Lost
by ShadowWolf157
Summary: Jealousy, sorrow, confusion and anger. That's all he seems to feel. Twisted, lost, alone. It's all there. It seems he has no one to trust. He's wrong. Rated 'T' for violence and because it's warriors.
1. 6 Moons old

**A/N: Hey again! So, here's another story... but this time, it's a fanfiction on warriors cats! Yay! LOL, I felt like I would write something about cats... Yeah. So, here! And yes, I'm still doing wolf wars, but don't count on the next chapter being up soon. I am also working on my one-shot thingy, but I just got an idea for a story about warriors cats and just HAD to write it. Anyway, please tell me what you think! Writing about warriors cats is new to me, so I need advice! Well, thanks again for reading! Bye!**

* * *

 **Allegiances**

 **Flameclan**

 **Leader:** Blazestar-Strong, brave tom with amber eyes and a flame colored pelt

 **Deputy:** Oaktail-Light brown tom with yellow eyes

 **Medicine cat:** Dapplepelt-Kind, sweet she-cat with white dappled pelt

 **Warriors:**

Ashcloud-Ash colored she-cat with enthusiastic personality and green eyes

Echosky-Dark grey tom with white paws and dark blue eyes

Ferntail-Ginger she-cat with amber eyes

Leafclaw-Beautiful white she-cat with bright green eyes

Bluesky-She-cat with 'blue' fur and amber eyes

Stormcloud-Dark grey tom, with an almost black pelt and bright yellow eyes

Berrytail-White tom with ginger patches of fur and green eyes

Cloudfoot-Light grey tom with white paws and belly and amber eyes

Dewstripe*-Silver she-cat with stripes and blue eyes

Stumptail-Dark brown tom with gleaming yellow eyes

Rainnose*-Light brown she-cat with blue eyes

Swiftpelt*-Silver she-cat with sparkling blue eyes

Nightclaw-Sleek black tom with amber eyes

Clearwater*-Cream colored she-cat with green eyes

Dustcloud-Light brown/ginger tom with yellow eyes

Duskpelt-Ginger tom with bright green eyes

Sleekpelt-Jet-black tom with dark green eyes

 **Queens:**

Dasiypelt-White and dark brown dappled she-cat with amber eyes

Creamfur-White she-cat with blue eyes

 **Kits:**

Gingerkit-Small, ginger she-kit with bright green eyes

Spotkit-Ginger she-kit with dappled pelt and amber eyes

Whitekit-White tom kit with dark blue eyes and black paws and tail tip

 **Apprentices:**

Graypaw-Grey tom with amber/blue eyes

Streampaw-Light grey she-cat with creamy blue eyes

Silverpaw-Silver she-cat with bright amber eyes

Rockpaw-Dark ginger tom with amber eyes

Rabbitpaw-Light ginger tom with amber eyes

Mudpaw-Brown tom with yellow eyes

Hazelpaw-Hazel colored she-cat with yellow eyes

 **Elders:**

Brokenclaw-White tom with black patches of fur and green eyes

Halfwhisker-Light grey tom with amber eyes

Rosepetal-Ginger she-cat with bright green eyes

Snowfall-Creamy white she-cat with light blue eyes

*She-cats who have just left the nursery due to having their kits becoming apprentices

 **A/N: I will have allegiances for the other clans in this story as well (Iceclan, Moonclan and Pineclan)! Iceclan will kind of be like Riverclan, (Except it's named for the icy lakes and rivers that surround their camp). Moonclan will be a bit like Windclan, (Because it's named for the open moorland that surrounds their territory, and there are no trees, so you can see the moon clearly). Pineclan will be like Shadowclan, execpt not as evilish. I named them that because they live in a pine forest, much like Shadowclan in the real warriors books.**

 **Well, enjoy!**

* * *

"Can't catch me!" Graykit laughed, grinning as he ran. "Of course I can!" Giggled his sister, Streamkit, as she flung one of her white paws at his tail. Graykit dodged her paw, leaping in the other direction. The two wore smiles across their faces as they played, eyes lit up with joy.

Graykit landed on the ground with a small thud, causing dust to rise from the ground. He laughed again, swiftly getting back up and running off. Streamkit stared straight ahead, a look of determination on her face. She ran as fast as she could, eyes focused on her brother. Streamkit leapt into the air, her silver fur gleaming in the sunlight. She fell down ontop of Graykit, causing the two to roll onto the ground.

"Haha!" "Ow!" "Stop that!" "Hehe!" Laughter exploded from the bundle of wrestling kits. Streamkit tried to playfully nip at Graykit's shoulder, but he used his paw to push her face away. They rolled and tumbled around on the ground until Graykit got ontop of his sister.

"I win!" He beamed proudly, his amber eyes glowing with pride. Streamkit struggled under his weight, grunting in frusteration. She groaned after awhile, and looked up at her brother. "Fine... You... you win..." She muttered the words quitely, before shoving Graykit off of her. As the two got up and began grooming their dusty fur, they heard a loud grunt.

"You two are almost six moons old, yet your still hoarsing around like newborn kits," A raspy voice growled. Graykit and Streamkit turned around to see a large, white and black furred elder.

"We were just playing! Every kit has the right to play!" Streamkit protested, her ears flattened.

"You two shouldn't be acting like kits anymore! Your almost apprentices!" The elderly tom grunted.

Streamkit opened her mouth to say something, but the tom continued.

"Pfft, I can't even imagine _you two_ as warriors, or even apprentices. You need to grow up already!" The elder growled. Streamkit glared at him.

"What do _you_ know, Brokenclaw?" She said in anger. Graykit sighed a little. "You brat! Learn to respect your elders, mouse-brained kit!" Brokenclaw snarled. Graykit winced. He knew that this was going to get bad if his sister continued to argue.

Streamkit opened her mouth again, but this time Graykit stopped her. "We shouldn't be arguing! Streamkit and I have to prepare for becomign apprentices tonight!" He said quickly. Brokenclaw glared at the two before turning and padding off.

Streamkit growled, and Graykit could tell she was angry. "It's okay, sis. Brokenclaw was just grumpy. But he's right; We should start to grow up a little." He said, trying to smile. Streamkit sighed. "I guess so..." She mumbled, glancing away. Graykit grined a little and nudged her playfully. "But that doesn't mean we can't still play!" He laughed. Streamkit smiled and looked at him, before tackling him to the ground.

"Hey!" Graykit giggled, batting at streamkit's whiskers. The two began to roll on the ground again, faces lit up with joy.

* * *

"All cats six moons and older, gather under the ancient oak!" Blazestar called out, his voice loud enough to alert the whole entire clan. Graykit's ears twitched and perked up as he watched many familiar cats run by. Streamkit stood beside him, a bright smile spreading across her face.

"Blazestar is going to make us apprentices!" She squealed, bouncing around with excitement. Graykit grinned as well, happiness sweping over him. Today was the day he would become more than a tiny kit. Today was the day he'd start training beside other brave warriors. Today was a very important day.

He joined Streamkit and started running towards the gathering spot. His clanmates ran beside him, some in front of him. Soon, Graykit arrived in the gathering spot. He glanced around, trying to find his sister among the sea of excited cats.

"Graykit!" A voice called out. Graykit looked around quickly to soon see a bright silver shape near him. "Silverkit!" He beamed, sprinting over towards his friend.

After pushing past a few cats, he reached the silver kit. Graykit smiled to see his other friends coming. "Mudkit, Hazelkit, Rabbitkit and Rockkit!" He said happily, watching them gather near him. "Hey Graykit!" Mudkit said with a grin. Suddenly, Streamkit emerged from the sea of waiting cats. "There you are! Didn't forget about me, did ya?" She chuckled, sitting near her brother. The group laughed, before beginning to chat.

"I can't wait to train with other warriors!" Silverkit said joyfully.

"I know! It's going to be awesome!" Graykit agreed. "I'm ready to show my skills to another warrior!"

Mudkit smiled. "Soon, before we know it, we'll all be warriors ourselves! Imagine getting our warrior names!" He almost squealed with excitement.

Hazelkit nodded. "I'm not sure if I wanna be a medicine cat, or a warrior, or maybe try to become deputy!" She said. "I'm going to be a warrior, no doubt!" Rockkit laughed.

"Attention," Blazestars's voice hushed over the crowd. Graykit stopped talking to his friends and sat down, tunring to look at his leader.

He cleared his throat. "Tonight, we are gathered to appoint some new apprentices to their mentors." Blazestar paused. Graykit stared around in wonder, thinking of who he wanted to be his mentor.

"Graykit, Mudkit, Streamkit, Silverkit, Rabbitkit, Hazelkit and Rockkit. Seven new apprentices! May I ask that they please come up to me..." Blazestar said. Graykit got to his paws, as well as the others. They all began to walk through the crowd of cats towards the root that lead up to their mighty leader, who sat on a sturdy branch.

Graykit tripped over some cats tails and paws a few times, and was glared at once or twice, but soon made it to the tree. Slowly, he climbed the large root, his friends following. At the top, Blazestar nodded for them to sit on a lower branch.

"These kits have potential, and I know it. Potential to become great warriors, with some training and work. May they honor their elders, respect the warrior code, and bring peace in the clan." Blazestar said, glancing at the kits every once in awhile.

"And that is why tonight, under the night sky, with starclan guarding and watching over us, I will make these kits apprentices." He paused for effect. "Mudkit, you are now mudpaw. Your mentor will be Leafclaw." Leafclaw, a beautiful white she-cat, came up towards her new apprentice and touched his nose with hers. "May you help turn this kit into a mighty warrior."

Leafclaw returned to the gathered cats below, and sat down with Mudkit-Now Mudpaw, at her side. "Rabbitkit, now Rabbitpaw, your mentor will be Ferntail. Help this kit learn their true destiny." Blazestar said. Ferntail came and touched noses with Rabbitpaw before taking back down with her.

"Streamkit, your now Streampaw. Your mentor will be Ashcloud. May you learn the ways of the warrior, and respect the warrior code as you train." Graykit watched his sister's eyes light up with happiness. Ashcloud bounced towards her new apprentice, beaming. Graykit smiles. _Those two will get along great!_

"Rockkit," Blazestar said. The dark brown kit smiled, leaping to his feet. "Your mentor will be Bluesky. May you have many adventures together." Bluesky, a she-cat with almost 'Blue' fur, jumped up to touch noses with rockkit. Blazetstar grinned. "Hazelkit, now Hazelpaw, your mentor will be Berrytail. Help guide this young kit through her apprenticeship." Berrytail came and touched noses with Hazelkit, before taking her down to the sea of cats.

"Silverkit, your mentor shall be Stormcloud." Silverkit seemed to glow with excitement as Stormcloud came and touched her nose. Graykit felt himself smile as the two returned to the crowd. But the smile quickly went away as Blazestar cleared his throat to announce who his mentor would be. Graykit gulped down a lump that swelled in his throat. Nervousness pricked along his spine, and he shifted his weight, uneasy.

"Graykit, now Graypaw..." Blazestar said, glancing down at the kit. Graykit stared out into the group of cats below him, wondering who his mentor would be. He hoped they weren't mean...

"Your mentor will be," The words seemed to come in slow-motion. Graykit gritted his teeth, and got ready to hear who his new mentor would be. "Echosky."

Graykit felt a grin stretch across his face. Echosky! Echosky was his father's good friend, and had been like an uncle to the kit. The dark grey tom seemed surprised and happy too. Graykit leapt to his feet as the cat came to touch noses with him. Graykit felt happiness flood through him as Echosky touched his nose with his, before motioning for him to follow. The new apprentice seemed to bounce alongside his mentor as they went back down towards the crowd.

"Echosky!" He whispered with excitement, sitting next to his mentor. "I know, I'm glad you're my apprentice too! But we have to listen to Blazestar now..." The tom whispered back. Graykit nodded before turning his attention back towards his leader.

"May these kits learn the warrior code and respect it as they venture through their apprenticeship. Now, you are dismissed." He concluded. And with that, the gathered cats got up and began to pad back towards their dens. Graykit, now Graypaw, smiled as Echosky nuzzles him. "See you tomorrow, new apprentice!" He chuckled, before padding off. Graypaw stared in awe as his new mentor left.

Graypaw was an apprentice now. He wasn't just a tiny kit like Brokenclaw said. He grinned to himself as he padded towards the apprentice den, his new sleeping area.

Graypaw walked into the den, to see Streampaw bouncing around. "I can't believe I'm with Ashcloud!" She squealed, running around the den. The other apprentices were sleeping, or groomed their pelts.

"I can't wait for tomorrow! We get to train with our mentors, hunt and-" Graypaw cut Streampaw off with a tired yawn. "Maybe you should get some sleep, sis, so that you will have the energy for all that!" He said with a slight grin. Streampaw stopped, and sighed. "I guess you're right..." She muttered, before curling up in the middle of the den. Graypaw chuckled a little, before curling up himself. He let out a big yawn, and let his sleepy eyes droop shut.

Tomorrow, Graypaw would train with Echosky. Tomorrow, he would begin his apprenticeship.

Graypaw sighed, and curled his legs tighter around him, going into a deep sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow! One of my longest chapters! Most chapters of this book will be like this, so be ready for the next chapter being long! Thanks again for reading! Please, don't hesitate to review, or PM me some advice! The next chapter WILL be out soon, so until then, happy writing!**

 **-ShadowWolf157**


	2. A Normal Life

**A/N: Okay, here's chapter two! I hope to make another long one... Wish me luck! Oh yeah, I'm having trouble coming up with what Graypaw's warrior name will be in the future (LOL, I'm already thinking about that!). But please, PM me or write a review of which name you think it should be! The names I have are: Graypelt, or Graytail. Again, thanks for reading!**

* * *

The morning sunlight warmed Graypaw's ashy pelt, as his chest rose and lowered with every breath. His tail curled around his side, and his paws were tucked underneath his body.

"OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH!" A series of loud, ears piercing squeals erupted from nearby. Graypaw's eyes snapped open, his ears folding against his head in fear. He glanced around, fur prickling in panic. "It's morning! Graypaw, wake up!" A familiar cat was standing next to him, pawing at his shoulder.

"You could have," Graypaw paused to yawn, "Let me sleep in..." He grumbled, dazed. Streampaw, the cat next to him, grunted. "And let you miss out on all the fun? We're apprentices now! We have to go wake the others-" Graypaw cut his sister off with another grunt. He glanced around the apprentice den, and sighed.

"Well, I guess getting up early couldn't hurt..." Graypaw muttered, whiskers twitching as he got up. "Yeah, that's the spirit! Let's go!" Streampaw said with a grin. Graypaw grumbled to himself before padding towards his sister, who was sitting next to Silverpaw.

"Wake up!" Yowled Streampaw, giggling. Silverpaw sprang up, hissing and looking around. "Oh, g-guys, you scared me out of my fur!" She chuckled.

"Well, let's find the others! They don't seem to be here." Streampaw said. Graypaw and Silverpaw nodded.

"I can't wait for training! It's going to be _so_ fun! I'm going to catch so much prey!" Streampaw babbled away about how excited she was as they walked, searching for the other apprentices.

"Mudpaw! Hazelpaw! Rockpaw, and Rabbitpaw! Your here! And with your mentors!" Streampaw said with a grin. Graypaw glanced over to where Mudpaw and the others were standing, mentors behind them. "We were out to find you guys!" Mudpaw chuckled, sitting down briefly. "We were too!" Silverpaw explained, getting up. Echosky, Ashcloud and Stormcloud were standing behind the other mentors, staring at their apprentices.

"Well," Echosky cleared his throat. "We better get going. Blazestar has told me to go out with my apprentice and gather moss. I'm sure your mentors have jobs for you too!" He said with a smile. Graypaw stared into Echosky's clear, blueish eyes. Streampaw nodded, as well as Silverpaw. The two went up to their mentors, before the group split up.

* * *

"Gathering moss..." Graypaw whispered under his breath. He and Echosky were padding around the forest just outside camp, in search of moss. "When do we get to do something exciting, like training to battle, or hunting?"

"Have patience, Graypaw! We can hunt for the elders as soon as we finish collecting this moss!" Echosky said with a slight grin. But then his grin fadded. "Unless Blazestar requests us to do something else."

Graypaw grunted. He wanted to get to hunting, and training to battle, and exciting stuff! Gathering moss was just plain boring. "Why do we have to do this?" He grumbled, glancing around the lush forest. "Because we need moss for bedding, and to collect water in." Echosky answered simply. Graypaw kicked at a small stone with one of his forepaws, still upset for having to do the task.

"I see some moss!" Echosky called out, a few pawsteps ahead of Graypaw. The apprentice ran towards his mentor, grass, leaves and dirt being kicked up behind him. By the time he got to where Echosky was standing, the cat was already near the base of a large oak pawing at green moss. "This looks _perfect_! Blazestar will be pleased. Now, come help gather some of it!" Echosky chuckled, and Graypaw was soon at his side. The cats picked off little and big pieces of moss with their fangs, dropping them at their paws. "That'll be plenty! Now, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Echosky grabbed a mouthfull of moss i his mouth and dashed off. Graypaw did the same before following his mentor back to camp.

* * *

Blazestar nodded at Graypaw and Echosky, the collected moss at his paws. "Many thanks to you two! Now, Echosky, you may decide what you and your new apprentice will do until sharing tongues." The ginger cat said. Echosky shot Graypaw an I-Told-You-So look. Graypaw chuckled a little. He was just surprised that they had spent most of the day collecting moss. "But remeber," Blazestar said, this time in a stern tone of voice. "If you go out hunting, you will be bring prey to fee dthe elders. Got it?" Graypaw and Echosky nodded, before Blazestar flicked his tail in a gesture for them to leave.

"What should we do? Go out hunting!? Practice battling..." Graypaw was cur off by his own mentor. "...Or gather bedding, or pick burs and ticks out of the elder's fur..." Echosky chuckled. Graypaw stared, half-amazed half-angry. "I'm just playin' with ya! We can do whatever you want!" The tom said with a smile. Graypaw felt like sighing in relief, but then an idea popped into his head. "We could go on patrol-" Echosky shook his head before his new apprentice could finish.

"Sorry, but I think you can in a couple days. New apprentices aren't allowed to." Graypaw almost let a snarl escape his throat as his mentor spoke. Rage swelled in his heart. He wasn't allowed to do patrols! He had to gather moss! He had to hunt for the elders! Being an apprentice wasn't as fun as it sounded, so far...

"But hey! We can hunt! We should hunt! What do ya say?" Echosky blurted out, noticing the sad expression Graypaw wore on his face. The Gray apprentice's ears perked up and he nodded a little. "That's the spirit!" His mentor said. The words reminded Graypaw of his sister, begging him to get up. Yet, the thought disappeared as Echosky began walking off, towards hunting grounds.

Graypaw and his mentor were soon surrounded woodland. They kept their ears and tails low, crouching as well. "Okay, is this your first hunting trip?" Echosky whispered to his apprentice. Graypaw nodded slowly. He had sort of been hunting, as a young kit when he and his sister snuck out of camp. They tried to catch a plump mouse, but failed and went back to camp. Several times they did that, until their mother saw them sneaking off. So, hunting wasn't exactly 'new' to Graypaw.

Suddenly, something scurried in the nearby grass. Both cats dropped lower to the ground, their bellies almost against the dirt and grass of the forest floor. Echosky sniffed the air, his apprentice doing so as well. The strong scent of mose entered Graypaw's nose, and he opened his mouth letting his scent glands confirm it really was one. Echosky turned and tilted his head at his apprentice, trying to silently ask if he wanted to catch the mouse. Graypaw nodded and crept up next to his mentor, eyes focused on the rustling grass.

Graypaw crouched, before leaping up into the air. He flew down towards his prey, landing with a thud. The young cat put a frim paw down over to mose, watching it struggle to escape. Graypaw waited a few moments of his mentor to come up next to him, before he killed the mose with one swift bite.

"Very good!" Echosky cheered, nuzzling his apprentice. "I think you've earned some time off. Go, bring this mose back to the elders, and then do whatever until sharing tongues. I'll catch some more prey, if you don't mind." Graypaw smiled, beaming with happiness. He'd be excited to show his friends his first kill!

He grabbed the limp mouse his jaws, before sprinting back towards camp. Joy and excitement filled his heart. Soon enough, Graypaw burst into camp, mose dangling from his mouth. A few cats greeted him with a purr, but Graypaw soon was headed towards the elder's caveish den.

"Well look who it is!" A raspy voice snarled as Graypaw stepped inside the elder's den. "I never thought you'd have time in your life to stop playing and go out to catch something!" Brokenclaw was glaring at him. Graypaw wanted to hiss at him, or say something mean, but remembered to respect his elders. "Here," He said, laying the mose down in the center of the den. "Everyone gets a small bite. If there's still some left, divide it up." Graypaw explained. A hiss came from behind him. "You expect _one bite_ of this puny thing to fill us up?" Snapped Halfwhisker. The light ginger cat looked angry.

Graypaw bowed his head respectfully. "There will be more, just wait." He said in a calm tone. Brokenclaw sneered. With that, Graypaw padded out of the elder's den and towards a small boulder that lay near the apprentice den. He sighed. It had been a busy day. Graypaw needed a nap. He slowly climbed the boulder, getting on top before laying on his side. He smiled. The sun warmed his pelt perfectly.

Graypaw yawned, before closing his eyes, and beginning to take a nice long nap...

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I have some bad news... I won't be continuing Wolf Wars until summer. I might write a few chapters here and there, but my primary focus will be on this story and my Wolf One-Shots. I'm sorry, but I can't seem to write more on Wolf Wars! Again, thanks for reading! Remember to vote on what Graypaw's warrior name should be by PMing me, or just reviewing! Trouble's on it's way for Graypaw... But he doesn't know it.**


	3. New feelings

**A/N: Okay, the next chapter is here! In the next few chapters, I'm going to make a twist in the plot. Please, tell me if you have any advice or think that this is too fast paced! Also, don't hesitate to tell me what his warrior name should be! Again, I'm thinking Graytail or Graypelt, but if you have an idea, tell me! Thanks for the support, and be sure to find time to review! I feel like you guys aren't really enjoying this! LOL, just try to be open to me and say what you think of this story so far!**

* * *

"Graypaw!" A loud meow woke the apprentice from his slumber. Graypaw yawned, vision slightly blurred as he opened his eyes. Streampaw stood in front of Graypaw, an angry look on her face. Graypaw stretched himself out, before pushing himself up. "S-streampaw?" He said with a yawn, still half-asleep. His sister growled a little.

"You've been asleep forever! It's almost sharing tongues!" Streampaw explained. Graypaw's ears suddenly twitched upwards, and he noticed that his sister was right. The sun was low on the horizion, and the sky was orange and yellow. "Remember, this will be the first time we get to!"

Graypaw grunted a little as he leapt off the boulder, tail sticking straight up in the air. "Well, what do we do? Where's Echosky?" He asked, tilting his head slightly to the side. Streampaw stood beside him. "He's been looking for you... But I think he's near the elder's den." Replied the silvery grey apprentice. Graypaw stood there for a second, before bolting off towards the den.

"Graypaw!" Echosky said in a slightly annoyed tone. His apprentice panted, slowing to a stop. "Where were you!?" Echosky asked. "I-I was napping... Saving my energy..." Graypaw mutters, embarassed. Echosky sighed. "That's fine... Just tell me next time before you start sleeping, okay?" Graypaw nodded, before an ear piercing yowl erupted into the air.

At first, Echosky and Graypaw flintched, scared. They clamed down as a familiar voice sounded. "It's time for sharing tongues! All cats, gather in the center of camp!" Blazestar annonced. Graypaw and his mentor began to run, and saw their clanmates running beside them. The cats paws thumped against the ground, kicking up dust. Graypaw coughed, inhaling some of the musky air, and was lost in the crowd. Confused, the grey cat turned in circles, looking for his mentor.

More cats streaked past, colors swirling around. Graypaw shook his head in confusion, before pelting off with the others. "Echosky!?" He yowled, pushing his way into the center of camp. "Echosky!?" He yowled again, craining his head above his clanmates. "Graypaw?" A puzzled mew came from the crowd. Echosky pushed towards his apprentice, confsued. "Whew! I thought I lost you!" Graypaw panted, relief sweeping over him. Echosky chuckled, and nudged his apprentice playfully.

"C'mon, everyone's settled down. We should grab some prey from the prey pile and find a place to eat!" He suggested. Graypaw nodded, before following his mentor towards the pile.

Mice, Doves, Birds, Voles and all sorts of prey lay piled up. Graypaw stared wide eyed at it all, hunger churning in his stomach. The taste of meat made his mouth water.

Echosky quickly picked out a nice, good sized vole and padded off. Graypaw continued to stare motionlessly at the pile of prey, wondering which prey to pick out. A couple hungry elders pushed past the apprentice, while he sniffed at the food. After a few long seconds, Graypaw grabbed a plump mouse from the pile and walked away.

Cats were spread out, and clumped together. Some were hungerily eating their meat, while some were happily sharing tongues with their clanmates. Feeling out of place, Graypaw padded over to where the other apprentices sat. He smiled at his sister, sitting next to her and dropping his prey on the ground.

"How were you guys' first days as apprentices?" Graypaw asked, licking at the fur of the mouse.

"It was awesome! Mudpaw and I and our mentors got to hunt together! We caught _two_ doves!" Silverpaw said, excited. "Yeah, it was _so_ fun!" Mudpaw said with a grin. Graypaw felt a stab of jealousy as the cats spoke. He stared down at the mouse, and nudged it with his nose. Was he jealous of Mudpaw and Silverpaw? _No way!_ The apprentice thought, shaking his head slightly and unoticeably. They had only hunted together _once_ , and that didn't mean they liked each other! Plus, Graypaw didn't have feelings for Silverpaw at all! Or did he...

The grey cat pushed away the thought by taking a hungry bite of his mouse. Blood dripped from his fangs and muzzle, and the taste of fresh-kill filled his mouth.

"I had to collect moss," Graypaw said, his voice muffled. The cat paused to swallow. "With Echosky." Streampaw stared. "No wonder you were tired! Collecting moss is _boring_!" Graypaw's sister said, emphasizing the word 'boring'. He nodded, before taking another bite of mouse. Blood spilled from the creature's limp body as Graypaw ate more of the meat.

The apprentices chatted for awhile, and finished their prey, before they went to share tongues. Graypaw began to lick Streampaw's silvery pelt, after cleaning his muzzle of blood. Hazelpaw and her brother, Mudpaw, shared tongues as well. Silverpaw licked Hazelpaw's fur after Mudpaw did, and Rabbitpaw licked Rockpaw's fur.

Graypaw stopped licking his sister to let her lick him. Streampaw smiled, chuckling a little, before beginning to groom Graypaw's neck fur. Graypaw flintched a little at her rough tongue on his fur, before relaxing and closing his eyes. He purred, curling his tail around his rump. Streampaw licked at his neck before cleaning his shoulder, grinning. Graypaw smiled and let out a happy sigh. He liked sharing tongues. It was a way to show kindess, share things about your day, and eat fresh-kill, rolled into one event.

"Sharing tongues is over, clanmates. Please return to your dens..." Blazestar's voice piped up. Streampaw stopped grooming her brother, and began to pad towards the apprentice den. Graypaw almost went towards his parent's den, and chuckled as he turned towards the apprentice den.

The grey cat grinned as he entered the den, the other apprentices already getting ready to sleep. Streampaw slept in one corner of the den, her tail curled around her rear. Mudpaw lay up against his sister, Hazelpaw, much to Graypaw's relief. He didn't want Mudpaw to be sleeping next to Silverpaw, yet Graypaw also denied that he liked Silverpaw in any romantic way. They were just apprentices, after all!

Graypaw padded over to where Silverpaw was curled in a little ball, asleep. He felt a warm feeling in his chest, but shook that feeling away. _I don't like Silverpaw! I don't! Not in that way!_ He told himself as he lay down about a foxlenth away from her. Graypaw sighed, feeling troubled. He didn't want to like Silverpaw like that! And he didn't! Or at least he thought...

Upset and confsued, the grey apprentice shut his eyes. He forgot about anything having to do with Silverpaw, and drifted off into a deep, comfortable sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: LOL, It looks like Graypaw is starting to have some feelings for Silverpaw! But... you never know what I'll do with the story! I may kill off of Silverpaw if I have to (I probably won't, I kinda like her as a character). I may have Graypaw fall in love with another cat! I may have Silverpaw and Graypaw get together! Again, maybe Graypaw doesn't like her! Well, I'll just leave you hanging until the next chapter!**


	4. Another Normal Day

**A/N: New chapter, posted! This chapter should be like... a normal day for Graypaw. I want to give him as much time as possible as an average apprentice before things get bad. With that in mind, this chapter should be 2k-3k. Well, wish me luck! Also, I've added another name for you to vote on: Graystorm! Please, if you have the time, tell me which one you'd like the most: Graystorm, Graytail, or Graypelt. Vote in the reviews, or PM me your opinion! I will tell you how many votes each possible name for Graypaw as a warrior has during these Author's Notes. Again, thanks for reading, and give me advice on what you think I should write next!**

* * *

Graypaw blinked his eyes open, sunlight flooding the area around him. He smiled, yawned contently. Another day as an apprentice. Another day into his life. Graypaw stretched himself out in his corner of the apprentice den, tail curled around his rear. He blinked at the morning light the came in through the den enterance in shafts, causing Graypaw's grey fur to shine.

He glanced around the den, eyes droopy and sleepy. He yawned once more, glancing around again. Mudpaw slept up against his sister, Hazelpaw, their brown and Hazel pelts pressed together. Graypaw felt a slight smile of relief spread across his face, yet he didn't know why. Was he realived that Silverpaw wasn't the one sleeping next to Mudpaw? Graypaw pushed the thought away as he turned his gaze to his own sister's shimmering silvery fur. Streampaw's sides and chest rose and lowered with every breath she took, making Graypaw feel calm and relaxed. He was happy to see his sister so content.

The young Tom opened his mouth to yawn for what seemed like the thousandth time, before getting up. Graypaw arched his back in a stretch, and began to pad towards the exit of the apprentice den. The grey cat peeked just outside, his whiskers twitching alertly. Suddenly, a big, powerful force knocked Graypaw off balence, sending him tumbling out of the den and onto the forest floor. He let a frightened yowl escape his throat as Graypaw landed with a thud, pain jolting through his body.

"Hehe!" A familiar voice giggled, as Graypaw lay there on the ground. He scrambled to his paws, fur pointed up in defense. As the apprentice turned, he saw a beautiful, light silver-grey shape before him. "Silverpaw!" He said, half-annoyed and half-overjoyed to see the cat. "You didn't think I'd really sleep in, did ya?!" Silverpaw mewed, giggling with excitement. Graypaw felt a burning twinge of affection in his chest, and gazed awefully at the she-cat.

"Um... Earth to Graypaw?" Silverpaw asked, unsurely. The grey apprentice snapped out of it, quickly recovering. "I-I uh... G-good morning, Silverpaw..." He muttered, shifting his weight uneasily. To Graypaw's luck, the light grey silvery cat just laughed.

"What's goin' on?" Mudpaw said wearily, stumblign out of the apprentice den. "Nothing, except for the fact that I scared Graypaw!" Silverpaw chuckled. Graypaw felt slight anger boil in his heart, before realizing that she was just joking around. Mudpaw chuckled, glancing over at his friend.

"Well," Mudpaw mumbled, sitting down at the mouth of the den. Silverpaw padded down towards Graypaw, and the apprentice felt the warm feeling in his heart again. But just before Silverpaw sat next to Graypaw, she turned and sat a few tail lengths away from him. He sighed a little, trying to push away the feeling of disappointment.

 _Ugh, I have to stop! Snap out of it! I keep feeling like I... I... like I have feelings for S-silverpaw! But I know I don't! I don't..._ Graypaw shifted his weight, and looked down at the ground. This warm feeling... It felt so strange. He didn't like it... yet he did. Graypaw seemed to want the feeling, and sometimes the thought of having Silverpaw up next to him made him blush under his fur. But the other half of Graypaw wanted nothing to do with this feeling, and all these strange new thoughts. That half just wanted to be a warrior, and live a life without the weirdness of loving someone that wasn't your own kin.

Graypaw broke away from those thoughts as more cats started to wake up. Little by little, the sun rose higher across the horizion, lighting up the forest camp. He watched as cats seemed to pour from their dens, strecthing, yawning and greeting each other.

Graypaw was very excited for his next day as an apprentice, egar to learn something new. Maybe he would learn how to fight! Maybe he would learn hunting techniques! Maybe he would finally get a tour of the clan's territory! The possiblities were endless!

"I gotta go find Ashcloud! She told me we were going to hunt this morning. See ya guys later!" Streampaw chirpped from nearby, bursting out of the den. Graypaw flintched in surprise as she raced by, grey tail bobbing in the air like a flag. Graypaw chuckled a little. He loved his sister's enthusiasm.

"Graypaw!"A voice called out, making the grey apprentice jump, startled.

Echosky walked towards him, ears twitching. "Are you ready to start training? I'm ready!" The cat asked, sitting down and licking his paw briefly. Graypaw beamed. "Of course! What are we doing today?" He asked, leaping to his feet. "I don't know... We could learn fighting techniques!" Echosky said with a smile, glancing up at his apprentice. "Sure! Sounds awesome! Let's go!" Graypaw mewed, grinning.

"Woah, woah, slow down! We have to ask Blazestar if there's anything else that he wants us to do!" The warrior said, placing a firm paw in front of Graypaw. The apprentice grunted, rolling his eyes. "Do we _have_ to!? I'm tired of doing this, doing that!" Graypaw complained. "Calm down! We can still learn fighting tomorrow, or later today!" Echosky commented. His apprentice hung his head, staring blankly at the ground. "Fine." He simply answered, whiskers twitching in slight anger.

"I'll see you guys later! Bye!" Graypaw said, lifting his head to speak as his mentor began to pad away. Silverpaw nodded, laying in a ball, waiting for her mentor to come. Mudpaw was waking the others, but he gave a nod as well. Graypaw smiled as padded off, following his mentor towards the leader's den.

Echosky gazed up at the large den enterance, seeming to be in a trance. Graypaw tilited his head to the side, confused. "Uh, Echosky..." He muttered, stopping beside his mentor. "Oh, um, yeah, let's go..." The warrior mumbled, taking a pawstep up onto the boulders that made up the den. Graypaw followed, stumbling a little as he climbed towards the enterance.

"Hello, Blazestar," Echosky said, pushing into the shaded den. His apprentice followed, eyes widdening at the size of the den. "Hello, Graypaw and Echosky. How are you today?" The flame colored leader said, turning to face the two.

"We're doing well." Echosky replied, sitting down and curling his tail around his rear. "How's your day going?" Blazestar smiled at the question.

"Great so far, thank you. I actually have some requests for you and Graypaw," The cat mumbled, leaning over to groom his shoulder.

"That's just what we came here for!" Echosky said with a smile, glancing back towards his apprentice. Graypaw stood there, a little timid at first, before padding up next to his mentor and taking a seat.

"Well, I need someone to clean the elders' den for me," Blazestar said. Graypaw's eyes widdened. _No! No, no, no, NO! I wanted to train! I wanted to train! Now, I'll be stuck with cleaning that dirty cave!_ He felt like yowling out, "That's not fair!", but kept his mouth shut.

"We wouldn't mind a single bit!" Echosky answered, looking at Graypaw briefly as he said so. The grey apprentice opened his mouth to argue, but shut it again as his mentor gave him the you're-going-to-stay-quiet-now-or-else look. Graypaw shuddered, and sighed before looking down at the floor. _Just great!_ He thought. _Now I'll be cleaning the elders' den, while Streampaw gets to go out hunting! It's no fair!_

Echosky smiled and bowed his head towards his leader, gesturing with his tail for Graypaw to bow too. The young grey cat grunted silently and bowed as well, before exiting the den.

* * *

Graypaw half-grunted half-coughed, his ears flat against his head. The apprentice was inside the elders' den, cleaning it as Blazestar said. Echosky brushed past him, a dry bundle of old, dirty bedding calmped between his jaws. The voice of another apprentice sounded outside, making Graypaw's ears prick up. He pooked his head out the mouth of the den, to see Rabbitpaw and Rockpaw with voles in their mouths. He grunted again.

"It's no fair! We have to clean this dirty old den, while _they_ get to catch prey and have all the fun!" The grey cat said angerily, padding towards another pile of bedding. "Look to the bright side, Graypaw! After this, we can train! Plus, there will be plenty of other times when you and I will be having fun while the others clean this... this horrible, dirty place!" Echosky said with a slight grin, glancing towards his apprentice.

"I still don't see it as 'Fair'. Why does Blazestar pick _us_ to do the boring stuff?!" Graypaw growled under his breath, picking up the bedding in his jaws. He almost gagged, tasting the horrible, old, used dry bedding in his mouth. The scent of older cats stung his nose, and his whiskers twitched in disgust as Graypaw carried the terrible tasting stuff towards the exit of the den.

He dropped it outside, and turned to re-enter the den. "Not everything's fair in life, my friend. It's not that Blazestar doesn't like you; It's that he sees potentail in you!" Echosky muttered, shooting another glance at Graypaw. The apprentice sighed. "I guess..." He mumbled, padding towards another pile of matted bedding.

* * *

Graypaw coughed again at the musky scent of the old den, and looked over at his mentor. "We done yet?" He asked, tongue hanging from his mouth a bit. Echosky muttered something that was muffled by the bedding he had in his mouth, and dropped it outside. "We are now!" He beamed, exiting te den.

"But... What about gathering new bedding?" Graypaw asked, suddenly uneasy.

Echosky chuckled. "Blazestar told us to _clean out_ the den! He'll order another apprentice and thier mentor to do the rest of the work." Explained the tom. Graypaw smiled, lifting a paw to start running off towards the training area.

"Wait!" Echosky called out, leaping up. "We still have to carry the bedding away to discard it!" With those very words, Graypaw stopped in his tracks, and gave a deep, long sigh. He turned and walked towards the giant pile of dry, crusty bedding, head hanging and ears drooping.

Echosky took a large piece of bedding in his mouth, and Graypaw did the same. The two began to walk off, bedding clamped in their jaws. Graypaw coughed a little, the musky, dusty bedding making his mouth dry. Some of it fell from his mouth afterwards, littering all over the forest floor. Graypaw didn't even bother picking it up, knowing he would then end up dropping the whole bundle.

Echosky lead his apprentice towards a small hole in the ground, which Graypaw had never seen before. The hole was partly full of old bedding, with some room for more. Graypaw dropped his in as well as his mentor did, and they went back to the bedding pile.

It took a little while, but soon the bedding pile had disappeared. Graypaw felt slightly happy that the cleaning was all over, he was sad about the time he'd lost. The sun was high in the sky, and any cat, even a kit, could tell it was sun-high. Echosky smiled at me, flicking his tail towards the path towards the training hollow.

"Ha, what are we waiting for?" Graypaw asked with a chuckled. Echosky grinned again. "Race you there!"

The two cats streaked across the camp, their grey pelts shinning in the sunlight. The cats ran, seeming to blur across the area, towards the thick brush ahead.

Others stared as Echosky and Graypaw sprinted, racing against each other. Echosky advanced ahead of his apprentice, gaining speed. His big, strong legs carried him along, and his paws landed in thumps against the ground. Graypaw let out a pant, before working harder to get ahead of his mentor. It was a constant battle between the two as they raced, getting ahead of each other sometimes before falling back into place.

Finally, the two grey cats slowed their paces, both of them panting as they did so. Graypaw chuckled, eyes gleaming in happiness. All that cleaning had been worth it.

"C'mon..." Echosky said, stopping briefly t pant. "This way..." He let out gasps for air between words. Graypaw was panting hard as well, but glad to feel shade come over him as he entered the brush. Thorns and leaves snagged on his pelt, but Graypaw didn't really care. Soon, the two emerged into a large clearing.

"Is this the place?" Graypaw asked, tilting his head to one side. Echosky shook his head. "Down this way," He muttered under his breath, before slinking towards another tangle of brush. Graypaw grunted, as he has just begun picking the thorns and leaves from his half-matted fur, and followed. They entered the deep, hidden brush area, more objects snagging on their pelts. Graypaw winced as a twing snapped off a bush, and poked his flank. He quickly spun aroudn to pick it out, but noticed Echosky emerging from the brush already.

Graypaw caught up, only to find himself standing under a fallen tree. The old, half-rotten log lay there, overhead, shading the cats.

"Are we here now?" Graypaw asked, pawing at the ground anxiously. He didn't really believe this was the training hollow, yet, the place had the word 'hollow' in it, so he was still afraid it was. "Yup! Here we are. The very place Itrained to become a warrior. Here, you will master fighting techniques, under the shelter of the Great, Fallen Oak. There's some soft dirt and a little sand here, but getting dirty won't bother you, right?" Echosky explained.

Graypaw stared in awe, but half in surprise. "Graypaw?" His mentor asked, worried. "Uh, um, yeah! Sure!" He blurted out quickly, snapping to his senses.

"Alrighty then! Let's get training!"

* * *

 **A/N: Wow! A nice, long chapter! 2500! Not too bad! Again, please help me out and vote on names for Graypaw! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, because after this, things will get a little... bad I guess. LOL, I feel bad for what I'm going to put poor Graypaw through! Thanks so much for the support, and keep reading! ;D**


	5. A Worrying Feeling

**A/N: Wow! I feel so bad writing these next few chapters... I have a plan of how this will go, and things will get bad. Remeber, please continue to give me advice and support on this story! It's my very first warriors cats story, so please make sure to find time to review! Also, I have to apoligize for a mess up/glitch in my chapters! I just took a look at the story, and saw that chapter two and chapter one are the same chapter! LOL! I've posted the real chapter one now, and I hope all problems are fixed! Thanks again, and enjoy!**

* * *

Graypaw stared straight ahead, eyes fixed on a finch. His tail waved back and forth in concentration, almost hitting Echosky, who was crouched next to him. "Focus." Echosky whispered in his ear, startling Graypaw a little. The fur on the apprentice's hackles bristled, and his tail puffed up. "You scared me half to Starclan!" Graypaw whispered, anger in his tone.

Echosky glared at him, and Graypaw decided to stay quiet. He turned his attention back to the finch. He bunched his muscles, ready for the attack. "Three... Two..." Graypaw realized his mentor was counting down. "One... Leap!" The grey apprentice sprang up just as his mentor whispered the word 'Leap'. His claws unsheathed, and he let out a fierce yowl.

The finch looked surprised, and fear shone in it's eyes. Graypaw knocked the bird to the ground with one swift blow of his paw as he landed on the forest floor. The finch began to squirm and wriggle, flapping it's useless wings wildly. Graypaw glanced back towards his mentor, and was given a nod of approval. Graypaw killed the bird with one death-bite, and beamed afterwards.

"Great job!" Echosky cheered quietly, making sure he didn't scare any prey off. Graypaw calmped the fresh-kill in his jaws, and turned to face his proud mentor. "Thanks!" He muttered, voice muffled from the limp finch in his mouth.

"Let's get back to camp; The clan will be worried sick! After all, it's close to sun-high!" Echosky chuckled. "Yeah." Graypaw mumbled, nodding at Echosky. The dark grey warrior grabbed a plump vole in his jaws, and the two began padding back towards camp.

* * *

Graypaw beamed as he and his mentor entered the camp, and puffed his chest in pride. Cats gathered around, congratulating the two.

"Great catch!"

"Wow!"

"Nice job, you two!"

Voices seemed to cheer. Soon, the gathered cats went back to their business, and Graypaw and his mentor headed for the fresh-kill pile.

Graypaw dropped in his finch, and Echosky dropped his vole. Graypaw smiled down at the pile. "Wow, I've never seen so much prey in this pile! The entire clan will be fed; There may even be letovers!" The grey apprentice said with a grin. "I doubt that, but there is a lot of fresh-kill here!" Echosky chuckled, nudging hid apprentice playfully.

It had been three or four moons since Graypaw was apprenticed, and he loved it. Sure, sometimes there would be the cleaning out the elders' den and all... But it was mostly training, hunting, going on patrols and having fun!

Graypaw turned and sat down, grooming his pelt. Echosky sat nearby, ears pricked up. Graypaw used a couple swift licks to make his grey shoulder fur sleek and shiney, before beginning to work on his back. He bent his head over his shoulder and rasped his tongue over his back, cleaning his slightly matted pelt.

"ICECLAN!" A panicked voice yowled, causing Graypaw to jump in surprise. Echosky leapt to his feet as well, and many other startled cats did so too.

"Iceclan!?" Graypaw almost yowled the words out. Echosky stared back at his apprentice, and then glanced towards Blazestar's den. The flame colored cat peeked his head outside, worry spread across his face. A patrol of three afraid cats, who Graypaw recognized as Rainnose, Rabbitpaw and Ferntail. Rabbit's fur was raised and matted, and he looked frantic.

"Iceclan? What do you mean, 'Iceclan'?" Blazestar asked, padding out of his den and into the center of camp. Frightened, panicked cats darted around camp, asking what was going on. Kits peeked out of the nursery, and their mothers' stood protectively over them. Oaktail, the Flameclan deputy, stood beside Blazestar.

Rainnose gasped and wheezed, trying to catch her breath. The members of Flameclan murmured to each other, afraid and startled.

"What in the name of Starclan is going on?" Graypaw asked, wide eyed. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Shh, Blazestar's about to speak..."

"Rainnose, Ferntail and Rabbitpaw... Explain exactly what happened, _NOW_!" Ordered the leader, placing a firm paw down on the forest floor.

"Okay... So, Rainnose, Rabbitpaw and I were on sun-high patrol... When we found the scent of Iceclan cats across our border." Ferntail explained, pausing to allow the clan to gasp in horror. "We tracked the scent as far as we could, and then met a party of about... about five or six cats. They said we had stolen their kit, and that they were," Ferntail paused again to pant, "Searching for her. We told them... that... that we hadn't seen any kit from Iceclan, or scented one. Apparently, they didn't believe us, and started attacking! We managed to run away, but..." Ferntail nodded towards Rainnose, "She has a pretty bad bite on her hind leg."

The entire clan took time to let the words sink in.

"Iceclan!"

"Missing kit?"

"There are no Iceclan kits here!"

"Poor Rainnose!"

The clan talked to each other, worried and scared. Blazestar cleared his throat.

"Rainnose, head to the medicine cat den at once. Get your leg inspected and taken care of. Rabbitpaw, Ferntail, I want you to help me lead a patrol out to investigate this. All Queens, Kits and Elders are to stay here. Streampaw, Silverpaw, Dewstripe, Leafclaw and Dustcloud, stay here at camp. The rest of us will go on a patrol to teach Iceclan not to mess with us!" Cheers erupted from the crowd as Blazestar ended his speech.

"We shouldn't be messing with Iceclan!" Graypaw whispered to Echosong, worried.

"I know... I have a bad feeling. But we have to try to defend our clan as much as possible, and we won't give up without a fight." The dark grey warrior replied.

Graypaw shuddered. A horrible feeling of worry prickled along his spine. He glanced nervously around as cats murmured to each other.

"We leave patrol... Now." Blazestar said. The fur on my back stood on end. "Everyone who I asked to join the patrol, follow me. Be on guard. Cats at camp, try to protect your elders', the kits and the Queens with your lives. If Iceclan attacks, send a few cats to tell us!"

Graypaw shivered. Anxiety tickled his paws, creeping up his body.

Before he could react, cats began to move beside him. Hesitant, the grey apprentice sat there. "C'mon... We'll be back soon enough. Follow me!" Echosky said.

* * *

Graypaw's paw pads ached, and his muscles felt sore. He and the group trudged through the forest, sniffing the air every few seconds. Graypaw grunted.

"Why can't we go back to camp?" He complained, staring at the ground. Echosky sighed.

"Iceclan was seen on _our_ territory... and we can't let the stay. I'm sorry, Graypaw, but I have no choice in this." The dark grey tom muttered. Graypaw groaned, kicking at a pebble with his paw. Pain shot through him, and he shook it away as his paw hurt from the pebble.

"Don't be so mad... We'll find those mouse-brains soon!" Echosky said cheerily. Graypaw kept padding around, anger swelling inside him. Where were those cats?

Suddenly, a loud hiss interupted his thoughts. Graypaw froze, his fur raised on his hackles.

"Calm down, Blazestar!" It was the Iceclan leader's voice. Panic swept over the group of patroling cats.

"Why, Froststar?" Blazestar snapped, stepping forward. The white tom with grey streaks on his shoulders stared. "We're sorry... We meant no harm to your patrol."

"You didn't?! You injured a cat! Why are you even here!?" Blazestar looked like he was about to pounce, claws unsheathed.

"Listen! I'm sorry, alright?!" Froststar spat, slight anger in his tone. Graypaw pushed through the crowd, fear piercing him like a claw.

"You-" Blazestar was interupted by a panicked yowl. Graypaw shook, the sound echoing in his ears. The Flameclan patrol group froze. Froststar sighed. "Oh Blazestar..." He whispered, sorrow in his voice. "What is it!?" Blazestar looked worried.

"We were coming to warn you; You know that kit we thought you stole?" The white leader asked. Blazestar nodded. Graypaw stared at the two, silence waving over the cats. The grey apprentice suddenly felt worry and fear jolt through him.

"Yes?" Blazestar had sheathed his claws.

"You didn't steal him... The kit wandered over your border. But... Turns out he wasn't exactly 'wandering'..." Froststar looked afraid.

"What is your point, Froststar?"

"They were running..."

Graypaw stared, his ears pricked up. His eyes widdened as Iceclan's leader spoke the next words.

"From foxes!"

* * *

 **A/N: Mwahahaha! A cliffhanger! Oh yeah, I made Cloudfoot not be Streampaw and Graypaw's father. Instead, their father was a tom that looked like Cloudfoot, but died way before Streampaw and Graypaw were born. Well, the next chapter will come out in the next week! Oh yeah, for Halloween I might do some sort of one-shot or something! Give me ideas! Thanks again, bye! :D**


	6. Losing it all

**A/N: I can tell you one thing: There with be some deaths of some important characters in this chapter. I'm sorry, but I had to do this for the plot to keep going like I wanted it to go. Thanks for the support! Oh, by the way, Happy Halloween! I will be posting Ashfur's jealousy of Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw soon, but right now I'm on a tight schedule! Please don't be mad! Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Panic swept over the crowd. Graypaw's fur stood straight on end, his paws frozen to the ground.

"N-no! That's not possible!" Blazestar snarled, stepping forward. "We didn't scent any foxes on the way here! How could they get past us?"

"Th-the fozes went around near the border of Moonclan camp, and then we tracked them headed back towards your camp. Plus, didn't you hear that yowl? You need to get back to camp, now, Blazestar!" Froststar said, fear in his voice. Blazestar stared.

"I... I understand. Thank you for the warning, Froststar." Blazestar's voice was shaky. Graypaw felt like his blood had turned to ice. Fear prickled along his spine, and tickled his toes. His grey fur bristled, and his eyes shone with anxiety.

"May I help you and your clan defeat the foxes?" Asked the white leader, shifting his weight nervously.

"No... Thank you for the offering, but me and my clan have to defend those who may be battling foxes desprately without us alone. We can't have company, or there might be fighting..." The flame colored cat muttered.

"Alright... Good luck." With that, Froststar began to turn around. Blazestar cleared his throat and glanced towards his clanmates.

"We will return to camp soon. I want groups of three cats to split up and come in on different sides. Four of the cats will protect the Queens and kits. Then, five cats will protect the elders. The rest will come with me. Cats of my clan, I wish you the best of luck. Go!"

Cats shuffled into little groups. Fear peirced Graypaw like a sharp claw tearing through his fur once again. His sister, ansd his mother were there! He needed to help them.

 _Plus... There's Silverpaw. I can't let any of them go to Starclan now!_ Graypaw winced at the thought.

"C'mon, let's go with Blazestar." Echosky mewed, snapping Graypaw to his senses. "Oh, erm, yes!" The apprentice's meow was hoarse. A large lump formed in his throat. Worry clouded his mind.

Echosky padded to his leader's side, followed by Graypaw.

"Let's go, Blazestar. We can't let our clan die!" The dark grey warrior mewed. Blazestar nodded. "Right."

The flame pelted leader and Graypaw's mentor sprinted off in two blurs of fur. Graypaw panicked, and ran after them. Cats whooshed by, and the forest seemed to be filled with running cats. His paws thumped against the ground, and crushed small fallen leaves that littered the ground.

For a second, Graypaw was lost in thought. His mind whirled as cats sprinted past. Leaf-fall was coming, and after that would be Leaf-bare. What would Leaf-bare have to do to the clan? Worry clouded everything once again, and the poor apprentice felt like fainting. He breathed in, and tried to exhale calmly. But his breathing sounded like wheezing. The grey apprentice didn't know where he was putting is paws. But he was still running as fats as he could.

Graypaw burst into the camp, burs and twigs tangled in his matted fur. His eyes widdened. Cats were pouring in on all sides, headed straight for a large group of foxes. Graypaw stopped running, yowls and hisses rining in his ears.

The scene was horrible. Echosky leapt for one of the foxes, claws unsheathed. The dark grey cat's sharp claws raked the fox's side, causing blood to seep through it's fur. The creature snarled, leaping back.

The clan clashed with the foxes, hissing madly. One cat leapt towards a fox's face, claws unsheathed, but the fox knocked them to the ground with on swift swipe of it's paw. "Leafclaw!" A cat yowled, rushing to the knocked-down cat's side.

"I'm fine..." Leafclaw got up, and arched her back at the fox.

Graypaw felt sick. Just the sight made him want to scream and cry at the same time. Bloodied cats lay on the ground. Inoccent kits yowled in horror as their mothers tried desprately to protect them. Elders hid in their dens. Injured cats stumbled towards the medicine cat den.

But he snapped out of it. The grey apprentice leapt into battle, claws unsheathing.

Suddenly, a blur of redish-orangeish fur sprinted by. Graypaw spun around, hissing and arching his back at the fierce creature. The fox stopped in it's tracks, snarling. Fear prickled along Graypaw's spine, and he shuddered. The fox looked ten times bigger than him.

It's teeth were blood-stained, and it's pelt was matted. The fox crept forward, ears flattening against it's head. Graypaw felt like he could just cry like a kit and run off. _I can't let my clan down..._ He thought, his fur standing up.

"Stay back!" The grey apprentice hissed, arching his back again. He tried to show no fear, and hide that he wanted to run away.

The fox came closer, galring. It snarled. Graypaw tried again. "I s-said, _stay back_!" He stammered, shuddering in fear. The apprentice kind of hoped the fox would listen and run off, so they wouldn't have to fight.

The fox growled, ears flat against it's head, telling Graypaw that there was no backing down. The grey cat gulped, and bunched up his muscles. He sprang into the air, claws glistening in the light. The fox looked surprised, and yelped in pain as Graypaw's claws raked it's snout. Red, bleeding marks were left, and Graypaw imagined it stung.

He landed with a thud on all four paws, panting. Blood dripped down from to small wound onto the ground, the crimson liquid staining the fox's muzzle. _Please, run away now..._ Graypaw prayed to Starclan that the fox would back off now. His heart was beating fast. The fox glared, anger showing easily on it's face. A loud, angry snarl rose from it's throat. _Oh... this is just great! I've made it furious now!_

Graypaw wasn't backing down yet though. He wished with all his heart that he could just leave.

The grey apprentice crouched, eyeing the fox's throat. It was unguarded! Graypaw felt his claws sink into the ground, digging up the earth. _Whew... All I have to do is injur it bad enough that it will run away._ He thought, carefully staring at the neck of the fox.

The fox snarled, wrinkling it's muzzle. As Graypaw jumped up into the air, he suddenly noticed that the fox liked like... like it had a smug grin spread across it's face. It hit Graypaw hard that maybe the fox left his throat 'vunerable' on purpose...

That thought was confirmed to be right when the fox spun around, it's large paw knocking Graypaw to the ground.

"Oof!" The grey apprentice wheezed as he fell, trying to gather his paws underneath him. The fox snapped at him, it's fangs barely missing Graypaw's neck. Panic swept over the apprentice, and suddenly, he felt a strange feeling. The feeling he'd lost something. Just as that feeling arose, a pain-filled yowl split through the air. Then, he recognized that yowl.

Panicked, Graypaw left the fox. He ran towards where the sound came from even more panic and fright building up inside him. The yowl had came from the nursery, where he could hear more screaming. Then, Graypaw froze.

There he stood, right in front of the nursery. Millions of thoughts swirled around in his mind, making poor Graypaw dizzy.

 _No! This isn't possible!_ He felt like screaming the words out. At the foot of the nursery, right in front of two kits, lay a mangled, bloodied, silver/grey striped body. "Streampaw!"

Graypaw stared, as another body leapt out in front of the limp one. That body was silver and striped. "Mom! Dewstripe!" Graypaw mewed weakly, watching in horror. "My kit..." Tears were rolling down Dewstripe's face. "N-no..." Graypaw choked on a lump of sorrow in his throat. "She can't be dead!"

Dewstripe growled, anger swelling in her heart. The she-cat glared at the fox whose teeth were covered in Streampaw's blood.

Graypaw felt tears build up in his eyes, and then roll down onto the ground. He ran, desprately calling to his sister. "Streampaw! Don't go!"

"You killed her..." Dewstripe snarled, hatred burning in her eyes. The fox growled, fangs glinting in the sunlight. Graypaw was in awe. It seemed like this was all a dream... but it was real. Before Graypaw could do anything, his mother sprange, claws unsheathed. It all seemed to happen in a flash. The she-cat sunk her fangs into the fox's shoulder, and the fox shook her off. Then, it bent down, mouth open.

Graypaw wanted to do something. But he couldn't. Before the apprentice could even take a step...

 _Crunch!_

The fox bite down around Dewstripes throat. There was an awful silence. Graypaw stared.

"Get out of here, you piece of mouse-dung!" A voice snapped, causing Graypaw to jump. Two cats, Silverpaw and her mentor, Stormcloud, charged in, chasing off the fox. Silverpaw panted, turned back to Graypaw. "Graypaw! Are you okay? That fox-" She stopped. Her eyes met Graypaw's sorrowful gaze, and then drifted towards the limp body of Streampaw.

"Is she...?" Graypaw nodded. Stormcloud stared. "What about your mother?" He asked, padding towards the striped heap of fur.

Slowly and steadily, the cat's sides rose and lowered. "She's alive!" Silverpaw gasped, eyes wide in shock. Graypaw felt hope swell in his heart.

"Take her to Dapplepelt! Quickly!" Stormcloud ordered, glancing towards Silverpaw. "Yes, right away!" The apprentice ran over and grabbed Dewstripe by the scruff. "Is she going to be okay!?" Graypaw asked urgently, padding towards Stormcloud. the tom stared at the ground, his gaze emotionless. "We can only hope..."

As Stormcloud helped his apprentice take the striped she-cat to the medicine cat, Graypaw heard rustling. He turned, ears twitching. Nothing.

Graypaw turned his attention back to his sister, who lay limp. "Streampaw..." His mew was hoarse as he approached the dead she-cat.

Three kits got up from their hiding place near Streampaw. Gingerkit, Spotkit and Whitekit stared, trembling. "She protected us..." Gingerkit mewled, eyes wide with sadness.

"Is she dead?" Spotkit asked, touching his nose to Streampaw's cheek. Graypaw gazed at the three frightened kits, not sure what to say.

"I'm afraid she's gone, little kits..." She muttered, licking his dead sister's shoulder. "Streampaw was your sister, right?" Whitekit asked, his ears twitching.

"Yes..." Graypaw had stopped crying, but he felt more tears coming. Streampaw was really gone. Gone forever.

"I'm sorry... I can't imagine if my littermate died." Spotkit squeaked, nuzzling Graypaw's leg. "It's alright... She died defending you. I'll remember her, and she can walk in our dreams from Starclan."

Suddenly, Silverpaw padded into the nursery, her head hanging. "Silverpaw! How's Dewstripe!?" Graypaw asked, fear filling him.

"She... No." Silverpaw answered simply.

"How?" Graypaw still had hope his mother was alive.

"She's gone. The bite on her neck was too much for Dewstripe to stand... I'm sorry, but your mother is following your sister in Starclan now."

Graypaw couldn't believe it. The battle cries had died down, and warriors had began cleaning their matted pelts. Everything seemed so peaceful now...

 _I... I don't know what to do. I just lost my mother and my sister in the same battle today..._

* * *

 **A/N: Poor Streampaw! Poor Dewstripe! I always loved Streampaw...**

 **Streampaw: You made me die, idiot!**

 **Me: Erm... Sorry! It was a good twist for the plot!**

 **Streampaw: Hmpf!**

 **Me: Your not gone forever, though! You can visit Graypaw in his dreams!**

 **Streampaw: Oh, cool! Mk, I'm done arguing. Back to your Author's Note thingy...**

 **LOL Sorry just had to do that! Just know that I'm not killing off of Streampaw or Dewstripe because I don't like them. I love those two! Well, Happy (Late) Halloween! The next chapter will come out soon!**


	7. Sorrow

**A/N: Next chapter! This one will contain Dewstripe and Streampaw's silent vigil's, some of Graypaw feeling sad... And maybe some other stuff. Well, let's see how far I can go! Thanks for reading! Oh yeah, and I changed the title! 'Lost'... I dunno, it just sounded good. I mean, this will be the start of poor Graypaw feeling 'lost' in life, so I think it makes sense. Well, here ya go!**

* * *

Graypaw curled in his nest, staring expressionlessly at the den floor. Sorrow and greif filled his heart like a large, heavy stone.

The grey apprentice glanced over at Streampaw's old, empty den. "It'll be empty forever now..." He whispered, turning his sad gaze back at the floor. Graypaw sighed. He wished he could just go back, just go back in time and save his mother and sister...

But there was no going back, and the young tom knew that. He forced his eyes shut, small tears running down his cheeks.

"Graypaw?" A voice asked, the sound of pawsteps causing the apprentice's eyes to snap open.

Hazelpaw and Mudpaw stood there, sympathy in their eyes. "What do you want?" Graypaw sniffled sternly, the tears that coated his face drying.

"We're sorry, Graypaw... Your sister and mother were brave cats. They both died defending the clan..." Hazelpaw sighed, her voice sweet and silky. Graypaw buried his head back into his nest, trying to imagine the two she-cats.

"Cheer up! C'mon, you can't be sad forever-" Mudpaw began to speak, but Graypaw cut him off with a hiss.

"Well, easy for you to say; YOU HAVEN'T LOST YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY!" Graypaw yowled, anger and sadness swelling inside his heart.

"Wh-what about your father?" Mudpaw asked shakily, trembling.

Graypaw stopped and thought, lifting his chin from his nest. He sighed.

"I-I never knew my father... My mother said he died before I was born. Streampaw and her were the only family I had."

Mudpaw and Hazelpaw stared. Silence filled the air.

"S-sorry... Really. I know it must be hard..." Hazelpaw nudged Graypaw's shoulder, but he pushed her away.

"I just need to be alone..." Graypaw closed his eyes and let more tears run down his cheeks. Mudpaw nodded.

"We understand... I'll send Rabbitpaw to tell you when the vigil starts for Streampaw and Dewstripe." Mudpaw said. The sound of the two leaving the apprentice den echoed and Graypaw's mind, like the noise their paw pads made when they touched the ground.

More tears. It seemed like a river of them was flowing from Graypaw's eyes, that were filled with unshed ones. He sobbed, burying his face in the soft bedding. Graypaw imagined it was his mother's chest, and he was next to his sister in the nursery.

 _The sound of speaks and mews echoed off the nursery walls, and the sweet secnt of familiar cats and milk tickled Graypaw, no, Graykit's nose. He sneezed, and giggled. Dewstripe gazed fondly down at her son, licking his forehead. Graykit smiled. Nothing could be better than this..._

The nursery disappeared, fading away. Graypaw sighed once again. "Those were the good days..." He thought aloud, blinking as more tears streamed down his face. Graypaw sniffled, and closed his eyes again. He curled into a tight ball, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Graypaw! Wake up!" A voice echoed in the sleepy apprentice's ears. "Graypaw!"

"Fine! I'm up... What's the racket for!?" Graypaw snapped, leaping to his feet. "Your mother and sister's vigil is starting! C'mon!" Rabbitpaw breathed quickly, darting outside of the den. Drowzy, Graypaw stumbled out. The lighting was dim, and he could tell it was a little while after sunset.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather in the center of camp!" Blazestar's stern voice called. Graypaw grunted, tired. But it was his sister and mother's vigil, and he wouldn't miss it.

Graypaw ran into the center of camp, and pushed past the cats who gathered around. In the middle lay Streampaw's mangled and bloodied body, muddled next to Dewstripe's. The bloody wound on his mother's neck reminded Graypaw of that horrible fox... The fox who took his only family members' lives.

"Today, we are here to honor the lives of Streampaw and Dewstripe." Blazestar annonced.

Graypaw dipped his head and closed his eyes softly as he padded up towards the two bodies. Echosky had joined him, and so had most fo the other apprentices.

"These two were brave, loyal warriors, and we will remember them for a long time. But soon, Streampaw and Dewstripe must make their journey to Starclan. Tonight though, they will visit us, and we may sit vigil with them." Blazestar muttered. Graypaw touched noses with his mother, and licked his sister's cheek.

 _I'll never forget you..._ He thought, small tears forming in his eyes.

Every cat took turns licking or touching noses with the two, before most were dismissed by Blazestar. Graypaw stayed, and so did Echosky, as well as Mudpaw, Silverpaw, Rockpaw, Rabbitpaw, Hazelpaw and a few other cats. "Streampaw..." Graypaw whispered under his breath, his eyes filled with sorrow.

The dried blood and matted fur on his sister's dead body made Graypaw flinch. He bent down, and licked some of the blood off her shoulder.

As the sun sunk beneath the horizon, and some apprentices left. Graypaw spent time cleaning his sister's crusted, bloody matted fur, trying to restore her to her former beauty.

Mudpaw and Silverpaw, the last of the other apprentices there, began to get tired. First, with a yawn, Mudpaw left in silence.

"Bye, Graypaw... I'm too tired to stay out. It's almost moonhigh!" Silverpaw yawned drowzily, before padding back to the apprentice den. Graypaw simply nodded, and then noticed he and Echosky were the only ones left. The two cats stood in the dark silence, remembering their former clanmates.

"Sorry, but I have to go too... Goodnight." Echosky whispered walking off. Graypaw stared. The silence seemed to whisk around him, clouding his mind. He sighed.

"Mom... I love you. Same for you, sis." Croaked Graypaw. "And..." A tear slid down his face.

"I'll never, ever, forget you two. You are brave, smart she-cats... And I won't let you down."

"Goodbye..." Graypaw touched his nose to his mother's cheek, and licked his sister's muzzle. With that, the sad apprentice padded towards the apprentice den, head hanging.

 _Bye... Forever._

* * *

Warmth wrapped around me like my mother's warm body, but as I blinked my eyes opened, the feeling disappeared. I sighed, remembering the death of my mother and sister.

 _I miss them..._ He thought sorrowfully, feeling small tears cloud his eyes. The apprentice blinked and caused them to go away, before glancing around.

Hazelpaw was curled in her nest, while Rabbitpaw was spread out. Streampaw's nest still remained empty, and that only stirred more sadness. _I wish she was still here..._

Suddenly, something made Graypaw's fur bristle. Behind the area where Rockpaw was sleeping, Mudpaw was in his nest next to Silverpaw's. Their pelt's barely touched, which made a feeling of anger rise in Graypaw's chest. He growled silently, his eyes blazing.

The sight of Silverpaw and Mudpaw so close made the grey apprentice want to unseath his claws. Just the thought made Graypaw shudder.

 _Ugh, why am I feeling this way? Mudpaw and Silverpaw aren't... together!_ He thought, gazing at the ground. But the thought still pricked at him, tickling his spine and making him bristle. Graypaw restlessly shifted around in his nest, whiskers twitching. He grunted. The feeling nagged him, and it wouldn't disappear! What if Graypaw did like, or possibly love, Silverpaw?...

 _Snap out of it!_ Graypaw hissed in his mind, snapping his eyes shut. He rolled over on his back, then back on his belly.

Graypaw snarled to himself. Forcing sleep to come back to him, the grey apprentice began to calm down, going back to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! The next chapter will come out soon! Please, take some time out of your day to review! LOL, not beggin' ya, but just try to! Thanks for reading! :D**


	8. Things Look Up

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Oh, btw, thanks for the reviews! My current goal for this story is 20 reviews (Which is honestly a tough goal for me to meet). Thanks also for the advice! I've realized I made some mistakes, like having them sleep with their own parents (LOL, I guess I was just in the mindset of a wolf). Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Graypaw sniffed the air, his whiskers twitching. _A squirrel..._ He thought, eyes focused on a creature pernched in a tree. The grey apprentice was sent by Echosky out to hunt, while Echosky would help rebuild camp.

It was a quarter moon after the fox attack, and Flameclan camp was a mess. Luckily, the only warriors who died were Dewstripe and Streampaw, but many were injured. Overall, it was a horrible incident that caused chaos in Flameclan. But it caused more chaos in Graypaw's mind.

He snapped his eyes shut as if in terrible pain, a tear slidding down his face. _That attack costed my mother and my sister their lives..._ He thought, sorrow and anger filling his heart once again. A cool breeze rustled the grass around him, and the sound of a bird's call rung in the air. Graypaw opened his eyes again, pain coursing through him. He bunched his muscles, claws digging into the ground as they unsheathed. The grey apprentice imagined the dirt below him was that horrible mouse-brained fox's face.

Graypaw flung himself into the air, yowling his rage out. The squirrel jumped backwards as Graypaw landed on the tree trunk, his claws hooking into the bark. A group of finches and a few doves fluttered up from the forest, and it seemed Graypaw had scared all the prey in the forest away. _Fox-dung!_

The light brown/grey squirrel scurried up higher into the tree, fear shinning in it's eyes. Graypaw snarled, fangs bared. He climbed the tree egerly. tearing the bark behind him. The squirrel hid inside a small hole in the tall tree, trying to mask it's scent. Graypaw sniffed, catching it's scent. He climbed farther, the anger and sorrow and greif driving him on.

Finally, the squirrel was cornered. "Gotcha!" Graypaw hissed, smacking the creature in the side. Blood leaked from the small wound, and it dripped onto the grey apprentice's claws. The small squirrel squeaked and squealed, scrambling towards the deeper end of it's hollow. Graypaw gazed into the dark, a tail of crimson liquid painting the walls of the trunk.

The apprentice crawled down, claws hanging onto the sides of the hollow. Soon, the shivering squirrel was in sight, and Graypaw got closer. The creature kicked and squealed, but Graypaw nipped it on the shoulder to stop it all. Blood seeped from the two wounds, and dripped down the squirrel. Finally, Graypaw clamped his fangs around it's neck. The small thing went limp.

"Aha!" Graypaw beamed, carrying the fresh-kill towards camp.

* * *

When he arrived at camp, Graypaw was horrifed. It was almost as if he were staring at foxes as they tore up camp once again. He shivered.

Cats swarmed the area, picking up twigs and leaves that were scattered on the forest floor. Queens watched in horror, huddling around their kits, as a few apprentices and a warrior rebuilt the destroyed nursery. Graypaw recognized some of those apprentices as Silverpaw, Mudpaw and Rabbitpaw.

"Hey, guys!" He called out, blushing under his fur as Silverpaw shot him a grin.

"Hey!" She said, her voice sweet like honey. Graypaw smiled warmly, feeling his heart tingle with affection. _Ugh... Fine, I admit it to myself; I like Silverpaw. There's no doubting that... but does she like me in that way?_

"Hi! I see you caught a squirrel!" Mudpaw mewed, a large stick in his jaws.

"Yup." Graypaw nodded, padding over.

"Mind helping us with this?" Rabbitpaw asked, dropping his own mouthfull of leaves. Graypaw beamed.

"Of course! let me drop off this fresh-kill first though..."

"I'll do it!" Silverpaw cut in, leaping forward. She was smiling, and it made Graypaw blush even more. Silverpaw's silvery fur glinted in the light, and her eyes sparkled. Graypaw felt his heart seem to melt.

Mudpaw shoot an angry look at the two.

"No, _I_ will." He grunted, pushing between the two. Graypaw felt the happiness drain away, and he almost hissed. Mudpaw's stern gaze softened.

"You can stay here and keep working. I'll carry this to the fresh-kill pile." The apprentice grinned at Silverpaw. She looked a bit confused, but grinned back. Graypaw scowled silently to himself.

"Thanks, Mudpaw!" Silverpaw gazed fondly at him. Mudpaw smiled. "Anytime!"

Graypaw had dropped the prey, and turned to help clean the den. It was a wreck. Originally, the nursery had been a shallow dip in the ground covered by an old fallen log with a bush growing in front of it, the leaves parting slightly so kits and Queens could get in and be easily protected. But the foxes had gotten to the den and leapt ontop of it, causing part of the roof to fall.

The hole in the ceiling was a vunerable place, and most Queens had refused to let their kits nest in such a place before it was fixed. But after blazestar carefully explained that it would be safe, the Queens agreed.

The other damage was that the bush was crushed, and only part of it was still standing. Graypaw shivered as he remembered how his own sister had couragously protected the kits, resulting in her death.

 _Oh sis... You were so brave..._

"Graypaw, Silverpaw and I are going to work on helping make the den enterance more secret. When Mudpaw comes back, he'll help Silverpaw while I try to find a way to patch up that hole in the roof. Leafclaw is over there calming the Queens, but the kits need someone to entertain them... or things will get bad. Could you?" Rabbitpaw explained. Graypaw stared. _Just great, Mudpaw gets to spend more time with Silverpaw... But, whatever._

"Sure. No problem." Graypaw nodded, turning to the kits.

Gingerkit, Spotkit and Whitekit were each five moons old, soon to be apprentices. Graypaw smiled fondly, remembering how he felt when he was first made an apprentice.

"Hey, kits!" He mewed happily, watching the three. Gingerkit and Spotkit, the two daughters and Daisypelt, wrestled playfully, while Whitekit pawed at a blade of grass.

"Hi, Graypaw!" Spotkit squeaked, nearly being crushed by her sister.

"Hello!" Whitekit mewled, turning the face him.

"Don't forget about me!" Gingerkit giggled, pawing at Spotkit's whiskers.

"I hear you three are all _five_ moons old!" Graypaw said, trying to sound surprised.

"Yep!" Whitekit squeaked, smiling. "We're going to be apprentices soon! Just like you!"

"Well, he'll be a _warrior_ by the time we become apprentices." Gingerkit corrected her friend.

"Whatever..." Whitekit mumbled, glancing away.

"Well, well, kits... What would you like to do?" Graypaw changed the subject, getting closer to the three. "Tell us a story!" Spotkit piped up, grinning happily.

"You mouse-brain! Elders are the only ones who tell stories!" Gingerkit hissed, glaring at her sister. "Now, now..." Graypaw said, placing a paw between the two. Spotkit glared back at Gingerkit. "Don't fight! That's no fun, right?-" Graypaw was interupted when Mudpaw arrived.

"Hi, Mudpaw!" Sqeaked Whitekit. "Hello, young ones." He muttered, smiling.

"What about the story? I wanna hear a story!" Spotkit mewed impatiently. Mudpaw stopped.

"Having trouble with kits?" He whispered in Graypaw's ear. Graypaw nodded quietly. For once, Mudpaw was being helpful.

"Well, you want a story, huh?" Mudpaw said in a much louder voice. "Yeah!" Mewled the kits, their eyes shinning.

"You go ahead, help with the den building. I'll tell these young ones a story... about a badger attack!" Kits gasped, eyes wide. "Tell more!" Squealed Whitekit, her eyes brighter than ever.

"Mkay..." Graypaw muttered, unsure. At least he could spend time with Silverpaw. The apprentice padded over, and smiled at Silverpaw.

"Need help?" He asked jokingly, grinning. "Sure! Grab some of those leaves and twigs over there, while I grab some honey to help stick stuff together." Silverpaw answered. Graypaw nodded, and padded over to the pile of sticks and leaves.

He gazed fondly at the she-cat as she headed towards Dapplepelt's den. He smiled. _She was perfect. If there was one thing Graypaw wanted, it was to be with her forever..._

* * *

 **A/N: You like it? I do! Enjoy! The next chapter will be out soon! Oh yeah, and just so you know: -SPOILER ALERT- I'm planning on doing a sequel for this story! Yay! But... Only if I get enough reviews. I don't wanna be a begger, but I REALLY want feedback! Thanks! ShadowWolf157 out!**


	9. Maybe It Will Get Better

**A/N: Okay, the plot is developing more and more in my head... Oh yeah, his warrior naming ceremony is coming up! I'm thinking his name will probably be either Graystorm or Graytail... If you want, you can tell me which name you'd perfer! Well, here's the new chapter!**

* * *

Another moon had passed, and even thoguh Mudpaw had offered to tell kits a story and not work with Silverpaw, the two had gotten closer every day. Graypaw grunted at the thought. The other thing that had been bugging him was the fact that he hadn't seen his dead sister _or_ mother in any dreams yet. He longed to see their faces again, and hear their purrs...

 _At least there's only a few sunrises until I'm a warrior... maybe things will get better?_ Graypaw thought, looking down as he padded through camp. Most of Flameclan territory was safe and the dens were all mostly rebuilt, except for the nursery.

Leafclaw had decided that the hole in the roof of that place was too big to fix, so they would have to pcik a different nursery. Graypaw chuckled, remembering how angry the Queens had been.

There also, in fact, was a new Queen. Rainnose, Mudpaw and Hazelpaw's mother, had a second litter of kits.

Graypaw's eyes darted over to the broken nursery where the new kits were suckling. There were three of them, and they almost looked identical to Mudpaw and Hazelpaw.

"Hello, Rainnose. How are you?" Graypaw asked, padding over towards the Queen.

"I'm great, thank you. I hear your almost a warrior, huh?" Rainnose purred, curling her tail around her newborns.

"Yeah," Chuckled Graypaw, sitting down near her. "How are the little ones?"

"Oh, they're good as well." Rainnose said, rasping her tongue over one of her kit's forehead.

"Do they have names yet?" Graypaw asked, licking his own paw as he spoke. Rainnose smiled, and gazed down at her new kits. "Yes."

"What are they?" The grey apprentice mewed, grinning.

"Well, this bigger one," Rainnose rested her nose on the biggest kit's head. "His name is Branchkit."

Graypaw nodded, looking at the kit. It still hadn't opened it's eyes, and was wiggling around like crazy.

"And this she-kit here," Rainnose nudged a hazel brown kit. "She's Splashkit."

"Last of all, there's this little one. He's small, but brave!" Rainnose purred as she licked the smallest kit. "His name is Sunkit."

"Those are nice names!" Graypaw smiled. Rainnose nodded. "Thanks,"

"Hey, Graypaw!" Called a voice. The grey apprentice turned to see his mentor standing nearby. "Yeah, Echosky?" Graypaw asked.

"Would you like to go training?" The dark grey tom asked, stepping forward. Graypaw's eyes lit up with joy. Lately, Echosky had been very busy rebuilding. They hadn't trained in half a moon!

"Of course!" The apprentice answered.

"Great, C'mon!" Echosky smiled. "We only have a little bit of time; Oaktail orginized a patrol for you, Ashcloud and I."

Graypaw nodded. He noticed Echosky blush a little at Ashcloud's name.

Ever since Streampaw, Ashcloud's best friend and apprentice (And Graypaw's sister) had died, the poor warrior had been very depressed. Echosky had started being with her more, and comforting her... Graypaw chuckled. The two looked perfect together, and the apprentice imagined that Echosky and her would become mates soon.

"Alright, lead the way!" Graypaw said, lifting a paw in excitement. Who knew? Maybe things would get better!

Echosky grinned and began padding towards the training log. Graypaw followed, ears pricked up. The two ducked under a patch of tangled brush, and headed down the trail. The fresh dirt and grass felt good under their paws. Birds chripped and the forest buzzed with life as Graypaw and his mentor squeezed their way towards the training log.

"Okay, let's practice some dodging." Echosky said once he was in a good position.

"Got it! I'm ready!" Graypaw said with a grin, standing barely a fox-length away from his mentor.

"Slow down, Graypaw! You need to remember; take your time. I'll leap at you, and you need to dodge." Echosky explained. Graypaw groaned lightly.

"I already know all this! Just jump!" He said hurridly. Echosky sighed and chuckled a little, and bunched his muscles.

The dark grey tom sprang, eyes focused on his apprentice and claws sheathed. Graypaw smiled, watching his mentor fly through the air. The grey apprentice spun out of the way, dodging the attack. He laughed a little as Echosky landed with a thud. The warrior managed to keep his balance though, and shook off his fur afterwards. "Good job!" The warrior praised. Graypaw grinned. He had done that move sevral times, and was used to it.

"Thanks, now, what else do ya have for me?" Graypaw chuckled. Echosky chuckled back. "It's not always easy, my friend. How about you practice a pouncing move on me?"

"Sounds good!" Graypaw got back into the fighting stance as his mentor moved a few steps back. The apprentice crouched, blueish amber eyes staring at Echosky. He took a minute to remember this move, and make sure his claws stayed sheathed. Graypaw breathed in calmly, before leaping up. He flew through the air, expecting to land on top of his mentor. But Echosky knew how he liked to do the move, and where he liked to strike. The dark grey warrior stepped to the right, and watched his apprentice let out a confused _mrrow?_ and flail his paws around.

Graypaw landed with a thud, face-first on the ground. Dust clouded up around him, and Echosky laughed a little.

"Not everyone can be perfect at everything!" Graypaw hissed, licking his matted pelt. Echosky nodded.

"Yes, I know. You just need to improve at that move. Now, let's try one more time." The warrior said. Graypaw sighed, and got back into stance.

"Alright, remember this: The key is to strike from different sides. If you only pounce from one side every time, your opponent will knwo your moves and outsmart you. Try to surprise them." Echosky advised.

"Okay, here I go!" Breathed Graypaw. He sprange once again, aiming for the same place he always did. But before Echosky could react like usual, the apprentice twisted around and hit his mentor in the side. Graypaw grasped his paws around Echosky's flank, and chuckled as his mentor coughed at impact. The grey apprentice pushed with all his weight so that his mentor fell down to the ground with a thump, and dust swirled up around them. Echosky smiled, and Graypaw returned that smile as he got off.

"Great! Now, I have one more move for you to practice." Echosky exclaimed. Graypaw sighed glumly. He had hoped they would train for awhile, and hated to have his training cut off.

 _But I know we can't pass on patrol duty, so I might as well enjoy this next move!_ Graypaw thought.

"Okay, what move is it then?" He asked. Echosky grinned.

"It's a sneak attack move, one that you haven't learned yet. Alright, so you crouch down low to the ground like this," The dark grey warrior explained. Graypaw mimicked the crouch. Then, Echosky instructed him to crawl carefully across the ground and sneak up behind his opponent.

"Then, pounce! It can seem like a simple move, but you mustn't mess it up. The key is to remain quiet. If you make any noise, this useful sneak attack move will be failed. Got it?" Echosky said. Graypaw nodded. He was ready.

Echosky closed his eyes and sat peacefully in the middle of the training hollow, giving Graypaw time to hide. The apprentice felt as if he was a kit again, playing games with his... Sister. Graypaw sighed quietly. He still missed her and Dewstripe with all his heart.

Echosky opened his eyes and stared off into the forest, glancing around every few seconds. Graypaw dropped down close to the ground, taking a silent breath in. He focused on his one goal: Staying quiet. The rest of the sneak attack he could do without to much trouble. The apprentice took one step forward, holding his breath. He felt hsi heart beating as if it wanted to hop out of his chest. Graypaw continued taking tiny steps, creeping towards his target. Silence filled the air, expect for the ocasional chirp of a bird.

Echosky was only a tail-length away, and Grayapw began to get impatient. He crept forward faster, and faster. Echosky got closer and closer, and Graypaw smiled. He had his chance. With one more step...

Echosky yowled and hissed in surprise. Graypaw stared down at his feet. His paw was on top of his mentor's tail. _Fox-dung!_

Echosky chuckled, and tackled his apprentice softly. The two laughed, but soon got up.

"You'll need more practice on that move later, but now we have patrol!" Echosky exclaimed. He leapt up, and began sprinting towards the trail. Graypaw chuckled.

"Slow down! I know you're excited to see Ashcloud-" Echosky shoot Graypaw an embarrassed glare and cut him off. Graypaw sighed and walked off. Maybe things were getting a little better for him.

Or not.

* * *

 **A/N: Whew! There you go! Sorry for the long wait! I had to re-write this _four_ times because I felt like it didn't sound right, but I finally think I have it! Tell me if you think it's good! Sorry for so many exclamation marks! (LOL). Anyway, I'm thinking my goal of 20 reviews may be too much... After all, this _is_ my first warriors story. Well, thanks for reading! **


	10. Strange Cat

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! I've thought hard and long about this, and now I think I've orginized a better plot. Please, review! Sorry, lol, again I don't wanna be a begger, but I feel like I just need someone to tell me what they think of this! I appreciate the reviews I do have though, and I couldn't have gotten this far on this story without you guys! I love to hear what people think, and what mistakes they found in my writing. I want to improve! Anyway, here I bring you chapter 10!**

* * *

Echosky purred to see Ashcloud waiting for him and his apprentice. The two exchanged nuzzles.

Graypaw felt happy for his mentor finding a nice she-cat. But just as Graypaw thought about that, Mudpaw and Silverpaw passed. _Again, they're doing something_ together _._

It made Graypaw feel horrible when he saw the two. The way Mudpaw gazed affectionatly at Silverpaw... It made him sick. Silverpaw let out a content purr. Mudpaw pressed closer to her as they began to walk with herbs in their mouths towards the medicine cat den. Silverpaw drew away from him without any thought, and dropped the herbs. Again, Mudpaw hissed quitely to himself. Graypaw grinned a little.

 _Good... Silverpaw still doesn't know how Mudpaw feels about her. That means I still have a chance!_ The grey apprentice thought.

"Let's go already!" Ashcloud mewed, smiling. Echosky chuckled, and began padding out of camp. Graypaw followed, sighing. Ashcloud leaned up against Echosky, purring loudly. Graypaw wished he felt that happiness with Silverpaw.

As the three poured into the open forest, they began to get closer together. Graypaw sometimes had run to catch up with the two. Echosky joined Ashcloud's purring, and the two kept walking. Graypaw felt slightly angry. Did they not notice him?

Echosky purred something to his friend (Who was probably more than a friend to him). Graypaw pricked his ears up, trying to listen to what he said. The apprentice managed to pull out some words from the sentence.

 _"You know... Beautiful cat I've... seen..."_ Graypaw tried to put the words together, and eventually figured out Echosky had said: "You know, you're the most beautiful cat I've ever seen." Graypaw felt jealousy stab in his heart. Not of Echosky being so close to Ashcloud, but for Echosky having a seh-cat undersatnd him. Graypaw sighed.

The apprentice sprinted forwards, realizing he was trailing behind. The three neared the border between them and Iceclan, and Graypaw began sniffing. Echosky broke away from Ashcloud and sniffed too, much to Ashcloud's dismay. She sniffed too, and there seemed to be no scent of Iceclan on their side of the border.

"We're good, let's go." Ashcloud said. Graypaw was still sniffing, and was surprised to see her wanting to go so soon.

"We can't yet; There may be a scent we missed!" Graypaw argued. Ashcloud stared. "I think we're all good, okay?" She muttered. Graypaw snorted silently to himself, and nodded.

The three headed off, their ears pricked up and their eyes alertly scanning the area. But Echosky was always up front with Ashcloud, talking to her.

Graypaw sighed. There was no way they could do a patrol like this! He grunted and looked at the two, their tails entwined. Graypaw sniffed the air deeply, and began to trail behind and inspect the area.

Suddenly, the sound of grass rustling filled the air. Graypaw froze, eyes darting around. His ears twitched as he scanned the forest around him. But the rustling had stopped, and the forest was still.

As Graypaw and Echosky got farther, Graypaw began to creep away from where the sound came from. But as soon as he turned his back, he heard it again.

 _Rustle rustle..._

"Who's there?" Demanded Graypaw, spinning around. He glanced around, but the rustling had stopped again. He sighed. Echosky and Ashcloud were way ahead by now. Confused, the apprentice decided he'd come back out later to see what it was.

The grey apprentice sprinted towards Ashcloud and Echosky, watching Echosky rasp his tongue over Ashcloud's cheek. She giggled. Graypaw grunted and sighed once more. Would he ever feel that love and happiness?

* * *

The three returned, happy that nothing unusual was spotted or scented on their patrol. Or, at least Echosky and Ashcloud didn't.

Graypaw still wondered about that rustling. There was a strange scent in the air too, which bothered him even more. He would have to sneak out at night and see what was up...

Cats were charing tongues everywhere by then, and Graypaw noticed Silverpaw alone.

 _This is my chance!_ He thought, suddenly forgetting about the strange thing he heard on patrol. Graypaw quickly thought hard about what to do, and raced over to the fresh-kill pile.

He glanced it over, thinking of what Silverpaw liked. _A finch? No... A finch isn't right. A shrew? Too small. A mouse? Meh... not exactly the best gift... A vole? Naw... A squirrel! I'll get her this plump squirrel!..._

"Hello, Silverpaw! You wanna share a squirrel?" A familiar voice asked. Graypaw spun around at that, seeing _Mudpaw_ grasping a _squirrel_ in his jaws, standing near Silverpaw. Graypaw growled lowly. He was going to do that!

"Of course!" The she-cat purred, patting her tail on the ground next to her. Mudpaw sat down, nudging the prey towards Silverpaw.

"You eat first." He offered, licking the top of her head sweetly. Silverpaw purred, gazing at Mudpaw fondly.

The two leaned against each other, eating the squirrel as the sun sunk in the sky. They purred, grooming each other. _Fox-dung!_ Graypaw thought, glaring at the pair.

The grey apprentice stormed off unnoticably, a sparrow hanging limp in his mouth. Graypaw sat near the nursery, and ate while he watched kits play. He thought he felt a smile creeping across his face as he remembered how his sister would play with him. He chuckled, taking a bite of the sparrow.

"I'm Gingerstar, leader of Flameclan!" Mewed Gingerkit, puffing out her chest.

"I'm Spotstar, leader of Moonclan!" Spotkit mewled.

"I'll be Whitestar, leader of Iceclan!" Whitekit meowed.

"And I'll be Sunstar of Pineclan!" A voice piped up. It was Sunkit, who was climbing on top of the small rock that the other three older kits sat on.

"Why do you get to be a leader? You're the same age as Splashkit and I! You should be a deputy like us!" Branchkit squeaked. Sunkit glared.

"But there are four clans!" He squeaked. "And it doesn't even matter how old we are."

The kits continued to argue, causing Graypaw to chuckle. He sighed and gulped down the last bite of sparrow, before getting up and stretching.

"I might as well check on that one spot again..." He muttered, glancing at Echosky as he rested his head on Ashcloud's. Graypaw began to pad away, licking the blood from the sparrow off his muzzle. His whiskers twitched as he headed towards the camp entrance, ears pricked up.

* * *

Graypaw sniffed the air, deeply inhaling all of the scents around him. His senses were flooded with different smells, but one smell seemed to stay there and sting his nostrils. The scent of cat.

 _I knew it! This is coming from close to the Moonclan border... But there don't seem to be tensions between us. Why would a Moonclan cat tresspass on our territory?!_ Graypaw thought, scanning the area.

The sun was sinking in the horizion, painting the skies bright yellows and oranges. The scent lingered in the air, and it was still fresh.

Suddenly, the rustling began again. The apprentice swished his tail back and forth, crouching low in the grass. More rustling. Graypaw's ear tips twitched, and his eyes remianed focused on the area that the sound had came from. Seconds went by. Seconds turned into minutes. Time went by faster and faster, and the sun got lower and lower.

"Whew!" Someone breathed, sounding out of breath. Graypaw crept forward, silent. He was getting closer to the cat. He poked his head through the grass, and spotted a slender light ginger she-cat with prey at her paws.

Graypaw growled lowly, glaring. He bunched his muscles, and sprange into the air.

"Who are you, and why are you on Flameclan territory!?" He spat, landing ontop of the she-cat. Her eyes widdened in surprise as she lay on her back, practically being crushed by the apprentice above him. She wiggled, but stopped knowing it was hopeless.

As Graypaw gazed into her amber eyes, he realized she was about his age as well. _Maybe still an apprentice..._ He thought, staring at her.

"Ow! What do you want?" She gasped, glaring back at him.

"Sorry, but you're tresspassing on Flameclan territory." Graypaw said in a calmer voice, lifting his paw off her chest.

"Flameclan territory? Erm... I, uh..." The she-cat mumbled, looking afraid. Graypaw pressed his paw back on her chest.

"I belong to... Um, Moonclan! I was hunting and I accidently must have crossed the border..." She meowed, her gaze turning into a confused and worried one. Graypaw got off her, shaking his fur.

"It's alright, I was just making sure you weren't an attacker. May I ask what your name is?" The grey apprentice asked.

"I... uh... erm, I'm Ginger... Gingerpaw! Gingerpaw of Moonclan." The light ginger she-cat answered, getting up and grooming her ruffled pelt.

"Ah, I see." Graypaw said to the she-cat understandingly. He felt bad. He'd scared a cat from another clan out of her fur!

"That's a lot of prey you got! A shrew, a mouse, a sparrow, a finch, a squirrel... I thought rabbits were the only prey on Moonclan grounds!" Graypaw mewed, glancing at the dropped prey.

"Moonclan, we... we discovered a slightly foresty area on our territory! It's littered with prey." Gingerpaw said confidently. Graypaw nodded.

"I should be going now... My clan will worry." The apprentice said, flicking his tail towards his territory.

"Yes, I... Erm, I should too. Bye, uh, Graypaw!" She said with a smile spreading across her face. Graypaw chuckled, and watched as she gathered her prey and sprinted off.

* * *

 **A/N: Ah, a new character! Gingerpaw seems like a good cat, huh? Well, I have big plans for her... And she may not be what she seems. Hehehe!**


	11. Final Assessment

**A/N: That's right, next chapter, Graypaw may become a warrior! Or, he may not... e.e ya never know! Anyway, I'm thinking his warrior name will probably be either Graytail, Graystorm or Graypelt. I dunno. Anyway, I bring you... chapter 11!**

* * *

Graypaw padded towards the fresh-kill pile, hunger churning in his stomach. He gazed down at the dead prey, scanning over it. Two shrews, a mouse, a vole, three finches and one thrush. Most of the cats already had prey, so surely this would be enough to feed the clan.

After a long day of training, Graypaw was finally ready to sit down and enjoy a nice meal. He scooped the thrush up in his jaws and padded over to where the other apprentices sat, around the boulder. Rockpaw and Rabbitpaw sat side by side, tearing into mice. Hazelpaw sat next to Mupdaw, and on the other side of Mudpaw was Silverpaw.

Graypaw gagged seeing how Mudpaw was pressed up against her. Everyone else looked fine, as if they thought Silvepaw and Mudpaw would make a cute couple some day. Graypaw sat on the other side of Silverpaw, but made sure his pelt didn't touch hers, for Mudpaw looked confused and suspicious as he sat down.

"Hi, guys..." Graypaw muttered, dropping his thrush at his paws. The others greeted him with polite nods and murmurs.

"Did ya hear?" Mudpaw said to Graypaw, his voice sounding worried all of the sudden. Graypaw stared, confused, before shaking his head.

"Someone has been hunting on our grounds!" Hazelpaw spat, raking her claws over the vole she was eating. Graypaw gulped, warily leaning down and biting off a mouthful of thrush meat.

"Yeah, Stormcloud and Ferntail saw someone catch a whole rabbit!" Rockpaw exclaimed, chewing some of his mouse.

Graypaw stared, wide eyed. Who would steal that big of a catch? Tensions had been rising between Moonclan and Flameclan...

"Whoever did that, I'll rip their fur off!" Silverpaw giggled, swiping in the air with her claws sheathed.

Graypaw looked to the side, wondering who had stolen prey. But his thoughts were cleared when he noticed Silverpaw and Mudpaw had finished their meals, and were now sharing tongues.

The gray apprentice glared silently at Mudpaw as he rasped his tongue over Silverpaw's shoulder. Graypaw grunted, taking another bite of his fresh-kill.

"Wow, I, uh, that's interesting to know. I think I'll go back to the den now, I'm, erm, tired from training." He murmured, eyes darting around, careful not to look at Mudpaw and Silverpaw.

"Okay," Hazelpaw and Mudpaw said, followed by Silverpaw, Rockpaw and Rabbitpaw's nods.

Graypaw grabbed the remains of the thrush and sprinted away, burying the bones quickly. He gagged. _I can't stand seeing Silverpaw and Mudpaw together! I had to get away from there..._ Graypaw thought, slowing to a walk. He headed towards the apprentice den.

Graypaw ducked inside, feeling almost scared how empty it was. He sighed, shivering. If only Streampaw ad Dewstripe were still alive...

The gray apprentice dragged himself over to his nest. He got inside, unsheathing his claws and kneading the matted bedding a bit before sheathing them again. Graypaw then curled up in a ball, forcing his eyes shut. Even though sleep wasn't coming easily to him, Graypaw didn't care. He just wanted to be away from Silverpaw and Mudpaw.

* * *

Graypaw yawned, a breeze ruffling his fur. He shuddered, curling up tighter.

"Graypaw," A voice sighed, nudging the apprentice. Graypaw's eyes snapped open. He glanced around to see Echosky pawing at him. The other apprentices were out. It was just him.

"Y-yes?" Graypaw murmured, pushing himself up into a sitting position. He began to swiftly rasp his tongue over his matted pelt.

"You've slept in late, _again._ " The warrior grunted, rolling his eyes. Graypaw sighed before licking his fur more. "Sorry! I was just... tired."

"Is something wrong?" Echosky asked, taking a seat. "I can help, you know."

Graypaw gulped. "No, no, no!" He mumbled, going back to grooming himself.

"Really?"

Graypaw nodded, though he wasn't feeling good at all. _I feel nervous... like..._

"Great, because you'll need to use all the strength you've got inside you today... after all, the final assessment is at sun-high."

 _Sun-high!?_ Graypaw thought, his pelt puffing up in surprise again. "S-sun-high? The t-test!?" He stammered, eyes wide.

"Yup. You okay?" Echosky mewed as if it was no big deal. Graypaw shuddered. Today was the day. "Yeah... I-I'm fine..." He whispered, voice hoarse. The thought of not having what it took to be a warrior was killing him.

"Alright... You and the other apprentices are supposed to spend time practicing fighting with each other until you're called. One by one, you'll all head out to take the assessment. Tomorrow, if all goes well, you will be named warriors." Echosky explained. The words echoed in Graypaw's head.

 _You will be named warriors..._

"Okay, I-I'll go now..." Graypaw was still nervous. He stumbled out of the den, bits of bedding matted in his fur. He sighed deeply, trying to calm his racing heart down.

"Hey, Graypaw!" Silverpaw's voice mewed from afar. Graypaw spun around to see the apprentices and her sitting in their normal hang-out spot.

Embarrassed and blushing, Graypaw quickly picked out the bits of bedding.

"H-hi," He stammered, sprinting up to her. Graypaw's heart burned with anger as he noticed Mudpaw sitting next to her.

"I can't wait for the test!" Hazelpaw meowed, smiling. Graypaw took a seat next to her and Rockpaw. "Yeah," Mudpaw agreed, nodding his head.

"What do you want your warrior names to be?" Rabbitpaw said with a grin. "I think I like either Rabbitstep or Rabbitfoot or something."

"I want something like... like Silvermoon!" Silverpaw said with a smile. Graypaw stared. _But cat's aren't allowed to have the ending of -moon or -star, the exception of being leader leader granted to -star._

"Sounds cool!" Mudpaw meowed, snuggling closer to the she-cat. Graypaw rolled his eyes.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Hazelpaw seemed to bounce up and down as she came towards the group. Her eyes were lit up with hope and joy.

"Did you pass?" Rockpaw asked, tilting his head.

"I don't know, they didn't tell me, but my mentor sounded pleased!" Hazelpaw squeaked as if she were a kit again. Silverpaw congratulated her with a nuzzle. Mudpaw gave a nuzzle too. Graypaw gave her a polite nuzzle as well.

"Graypaw!" The apprentice jumped as he heard his name. He turned to see Echosky waiting for him at the entrance to camp, grinning.

"Good luck!" Purred Silverpaw. Mudpaw nodded in agreement. Graypaw blushed at Silverpaw's purr, and smiled as everyone else wished him to do well.

Graypaw nervously ran towards his mentor, trying to stay calm. _This is it... I can become a warrior if I pass. Whew..._

"Okay, here's how it will go. I want you to go into the woods. I will watch your hunting skills and see how you deal with prey, but if you try to find me or see me purposely then you may not pass. Focus on the prey. Bring back your kills and give them to me. I will see how well you have done." Echosky explained. Graypaw gulped, nodding.

Echosky nodded back, signaling for his apprentice to go. Graypaw then raced into the woods without looking back. Everything went by in a blur as he stumbled away.

Sniffing the air furiously, Graypaw caught a scent. He stopped.

 _Rabbit, thrush, finch, vole, mouse..._ Graypaw tried to think of what it was. The scent was strange; yet he recognized it.

Soon, the weird scent drifted away. Graypaw then smelled a vole, and dropped into a crouch. He breathed in deeply, getting a lot of information. The vole was close by, about five or six tail-lengths.

The gray apprentice stepped lightly and softly, carefully sniffing the air. He slunk towards the prey, soon-to-be fresh-kill.  
Anxiety pricked at his paws, begging Graypaw to just stay there and not take his chances. His mentor was watching, and becoming a warrior rested in his paws.

 _Whew... Okay, don't fail this now..._

Graypaw sprang, claws unsheathing. He was careful to only hiss lightly, watching as the vole squealed in horror. Graypaw beamed as he felt the vole crunch under him, blood trickling down it's side.

The apprentice smiled. He had caught it! But when he looked down at the prey, he gasped. The vole had been completely crushed; blood pooled around it, was matted in it's fur, and Graypaw had nearly torn it in half. _Great, this is the messiest kill I've ever made!_

The gray apprentice gulped, glancing around nervously. Echosky had seen that! Graypaw backed up and pawed some leaves over the dead vole before walking off.

It wasn't long before Graypaw caught another scent. It was a thrush this time, and it seemed very close.

The apprentice stalked forward again, tail a mouse-length off the ground. He breathed in calmly, taking a few light steps forward.

The thrush looked towards him, and the young gray tom dropped closer to the ground. He then sighed, then crept towards the bird. _Only a tail length away..._

Graypaw bunched his muscles. He blinked a few times, then stared, eyes fixed on the thrush. Graypaw unsheathed his claws into the earth, and smiled as he felt them sink into the rich dirt.

 _Three... two... one..._

Graypaw jumped, hissing quietly. The thrush shrieked, flapping it's wings and lifting into the air. Graypaw remembered his training and dug his claws into the wings. Blood dripped down them, and the bird fell to the ground. It squirmed and rolled around wildly, before giving up and going limp. Graypaw grinned at his kill before sinking his fangs into it's throat.

* * *

The apprentice sighed happily, his fresh-kill clamped in his jaws. Graypaw had caught a pigeon soon after the thrush, and had fit the two narrowly in his mouth. It looked weird, the thrush hanging from one side of his mouth and the larger pigeon barely hanging on the other side.

Echosky greeted him with a smile. "Nice, you hunted well." He mewed, nodding in approval. Graypaw dropped the prey at his mentor's paws, anxiety clawing at him. He thought he had done good enough, but what about that messy kill?

"Hey, how'd you do!?" Mudpaw asked, grinning. Graypaw smiled back.

"I think good enough... I did make one, erm, messy kill... but, I guess I did fine." The apprentice said, pawing at the ground nervously.

"Ah, don't worry pal," Rockpaw mewed. "We all made a few mistakes."

Graypaw nodded, happy of how his friend supported him. He then sat down, but turned his head when Silverpaw spoke up.

"It's almost sharing tongues... is everyone done with their assessments yet?"

"I think." Hazelpaw said, glancing around. "I'll ask my mentor."

The she-cat padded away, but returned soon. The apprentices all stared at her with questioning eyes.

"Well?" Rabbitpaw asked. Hazelpaw smiled. "We're all done!" She meowed. Graypaw sighed in relief. The day would be over soon, and maybe he'd even become a warrior... if Echosky didn't think he needed more training.

For now, Graypaw would just have to wait.

* * *

 **A/N: Done! Much longer than my usual chapters, which is good! Sorry for not updating in awhile... Chapter 12 is coming soon though!**


	12. Becoming a Warrior

**A/N: Here it is! I'm planning to pack a lot into this chapter, because I've got a lot of things that need to happen in the story. Well, let's see how this goes!**

* * *

"All cats old enough the catch their own prey, gather beneath the Great Oak!" Blazestar's voice boomed above all others. Graypaw had just came back from a patrol around the Iceclan border, but when he heard there was a clan meeting going on, he didn't hesitate running over. The apprentice tripped and stumbled, but he didn't really care. He knew what this clan meeting was for.

The entire clan had arrived, except a few elders and Queens and kits. It was yet another 'sea of cats', the same one that Graypaw had seen during all other clan meetings. He found a seat next to Silverpaw and Mudpaw.

"Hey," He whispered, curling his tail around his paws. Excitement coursed through the crowd.

"Hi!" Silverpaw murmured, smiling. Graypaw felt his cheeks burn with in invisible blush. Mudpaw grunted. "Hello, Graypaw."

 _Obviously he isn't very happy with me sitting with Silverpaw... but that's all he's done to me, so, I don't care!_ The apprentice thought dryly. He felt slightly bad for how harsh that had sounded, but forgot about it when Blazestar spoke.

"Today, cats of my clan, we are naming new apprentices and new warriors. By doing this, it will help us thrive." _New apprentices?_ Graypaw looked over to see Gingerkit, Whitekit and Spotkit sitting in the crowd.

"Also, we will be getting new kits soon, for Ashcloud is expecting some." Blazestar grinned. Graypaw glanced over at Ashcloud. Her belly looked slightly bigger, and it was no mystery who the father would be. Graypaw chuckled a little, winking at Echosky, who was next to Ashcloud. He winked back.

Murmurs and whispers arose from the clan. Mudpaw scooted closer to Silverpaw.

"Ha, looks like your own mentor is gonna be a father!" Silverpaw said with a light chuckle, nudging Graypaw playfully. At this, Mudpaw looked a bit angered, but his expression faded as Blazestar spoke up again.

"First, I would like Spotkit, Gingerkit and Whitekit to come up." The three kits stumbled towards the Great Oak, eyes wide with excitement. _Just like when I became an apprentice..._ Graypaw thought.

"Gingerkit, you are now Gingerpaw." Blazestar announced. Graypaw chuckled at this. _She's almost like a clone of that Moonclan cat who accidently crossed the border! Ha, I hope this kit doesn't make those types of mistakes._ The gray apprentice thought. Blazestar continued.

"Your mentor will be Stumptail. Stumptail, teach this kit wisely." Stumptail came up and touched noses with his new apprentice, before the two went down into the sea of cats below.

"Spotkit, you will now be Spotpaw. Your mentor will be Sleekpelt. Sleekpelt, please show this young kit the ways of the warrior code." Blazestar said. The two touched noses and then went back down to sit down again. Whitekit looked nervous, shifting his weight.

"Whitekit, you are now Whitepaw. Your mentor will be Cloudfoot. Cloudfoot, please pass on your knowledge to this kit." The leader said. Cloudfoot and Whitepaw touched noses, then went back into the crowd.

Graypaw smiled. New apprentices, coming kits... a lot of things were happening at once. But when Blazestar cleared his throat, Graypaw knew it wasn't over.

"I would like the older apprentices, Mudpaw, Graypaw, Hazelpaw, Silverpaw, Rockpaw and Rabbitpaw to come up. This is one of the largest amounts of apprentices that we've ever had, and we are happy to name them warriors. While these young ones are becoming warriors, we have Duskpelt retiring to the elders' den." Blazestar explained. Graypaw stared, anticipation bubbling up inside him.

"Now, come one up!" Graypaw almost jumped back as he noticed the other apprentices were almost already up. He stumbled towards the Great Oak hurriedly.

"Every one of these apprentices has trained well, and they have done well on their assessments. Rockpaw, please come up to me." The apprentice nodded and did so.

"I am happy to now give you your warrior name, my friend. You will now be called... Rockleap." Blazestar licked the apprentice's shoulder. Rockpaw looked happier than Graypaw had even seen him be.

"Rockleap, Rockleap, Rockleap!" The crowd chanted. Graypaw grinned, imagining if they were chanting his name.

"Now, Rabbitpaw." Rabbitpaw swiftly leapt up. Blazestar smiled. "You are a brave and strong apprentice, and I'm happy to name you... Rabbitclaw!" The leader licked his shoulder softly. Rabbitpaw beamed.

"Rabbitclaw, Rabbitclaw, Rabbitclaw!"

Graypaw watched as Hazelpaw was called up. "Hazelpaw, you are sweet, gentle and kind, yet determind and brave. Even though your sometimes shy, I am still overjoyed to name you a warrior. You will now be called... Hazelsky!" Hazelpaw looked up at her leader with big, excited eyes.

"Hazelsky, Hazelsky, Hazelsky!"

"Next, I will have Mudpaw come up." Mudpaw let a smile spread across his face. He went up to his leader.

"You are a proud, strong apprentice, and will make a good warrior. Now, I will give you your new warrior name... Mudheart!" Blazestar exclaimed. Mudpaw beamed, puffing out his chest with pride.

"Mudheart, Mudheart, Mudheart!" Everyone chanted the name once again. Graypaw looked nervously over at Silverpaw, who was called up next.

"Silverpaw, you a sweet, kind but brave apprentice. I am happy to name you... Silverlight!" Graypaw grinned warmly at Silverpaw. She looked honored. _Silverlight... what a beautiful name! It fits her..._

Blazestar licked her shoulder, and then the apprentice sat down. Graypaw gulped. He was next. Anxiety pricked at him, and nervousness spread throughout his body. "Graypaw," Blazestar said calmly. The apprentice nodded, gulping down a lump that had formed in his throat. "Come on up."

Everything seemed to slow down as the apprentice warily climbed up to his leader. "Graypaw, you are strong-willed, brave and a skilled fighter. I am happy to now name you..."

Graypaw braced himself, trying to imagine his new name...

"...Graystorm!"

 _Graystorm! Graystorm, Graystorm, Graystorm... It'll take awhile to get used to being called that! But I like it! Graystorm!_ The apprentice thought. No, he was now a new warrior. He was Graystorm.

"Graystorm, Graystorm, Graystorm!" The clan chanted. Graystorm beamed. Blazestar licked his shoulder lightly, before sending him and the other apprentices back down into the crowd.

"We are happy to have new warriors, new apprentices, and new kits on the way. The fox attack scarred the clan, but we are rebuilding. I now dismiss you from this meeting!" The leader said. With that, everyone began to clear out.

"I can't believe we're warriors!" Purred Silverlight as she and the other new warriors formed their group. Graystorm nodded happily.

"I know! It'll take a long time for me to get used to my new name." Mudheart mewed. Hazelsky chuckled. "I know right, bro!?"

The group laughed as they began to head to the warriors' den, which was very crowded. Nests were spread everywhere, and it looked much different from the apprentice den. Graystorm glanced around. Warriors were everywhere, young and old, small and large. Everyone mewed greetings to them as they entered.

"Hey, Graypaw-I mean, Graystorm!" Echosky said with a chuckle. Graystorm split away from the group and found a nest near Echosky's. Silverlight of course found one near Mudheart, but Graystorm ignored it.

"I heard someone's going to be a father!" The new warrior chuckled. Echosky blushed. "How did you know they're going to be mine?"

Graystorm snorted. "Even a kit would know that the amount of time you were spending together would soon mean newborns!"

Echosky rolled his eyes. "C'mon, it's nearly sharing tongues... let's go!" He meowed. Graystorm smiled as he got up and followed his former mentor.

The sun was slowly sinking in the sky, soft oranges and pinks painting the horizon. The whole entire camp looked different now... as if becoming a warrior was putting a new perspective on all things for him.

Now, things would be different.

* * *

 **A/N: Short chapter, I know, I know, but please review! The next few chapters will be longer, I swear. Oh yeah, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! And to the people who are in Paris or have loved ones there, I wish you to stay safe!**


End file.
